“Three Strikes and You're out”

“Three Strikes and You're out”

Thesis statement

Overcrowding in prisons is increasing at a fast space due to the “Three Strikes and You're Out” attitude as the attempts by the system to prevent offenders from returning to crimes are inadequate, especially as the education is underfunded. The states differ in their interpretation of the policy, though there are many similarities which can be understood more easily if the pre-existing laws in these states are taken into account.

Discussion

How does the “Three Strikes and You're out” attitude contribute to prison overcrowding?

The basic purpose of the “three strikes and you're out” attitude has been to save the society from the danger of offenders who engage in repeated in crimes. The law simply means that offenders who are convicted of violent crimes for the third time receive life sentences without any parole in most of the cases or receive parole after having served a significant period in jail which could be as high as 40 years for a state like Colorado or as low as 25 years for a state like California. Such measures are likely to result in overcrowding of jails. It is no surprise that such an attitude has been resulting in the overcrowding of jails. Overcrowding in some states is so severe that they at times are being forced into releasing prisoners. They fact is that the three strikes law operate by giving out longer sentences to repeated offenders, thereby increasing the number of prisoners detained for a long period of time (www.metrowestdailynews.com).

Take for example the case of Massachusetts. Prisons are increasingly moving into the ranks of overcrowded and expensive prisons in America at a very fast pace. A close look at the different prison reveals the true picture.

MCI-Concord: It is meant to hold only 614 inmates but is currently holding 1,345 men which implies that it has an occupancy rate of over 200 percent

MCI-Framingham is built to hold 388 women but is currently housing 445

Overcrowding on the whole averages 143 percent over capacity

The new factor is that the present “three strikes and you're out” bills are not cost effective as they are widely drawn. The senate version of the bill entails non-violent convictions and imposes the third strike penalty even if the former convictions weren't serious to require sentences that were more than one day in jail (www.metrowestdailynews.com).

Mississippi had reduced its prison population by 22 percent which allowed it to save 450 million dollars. Since these reforms were implemented crime fell instead of increasing. Crime also fell in other states like Texas which passed similar laws. The rise in number of inmates in prison has reached such a level that states like South Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio have been reducing the number of prisoners with sentences that are shorter for non violent crimes. They have also been creating alternatives to prisons (Marcet, 2011).

According to an analysis of the sentencing data by the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission outlines that it would require an additional costs of 75 million ...