Three Strikes Law



Three Strikes Law

Introduction

'Three Strikes Laws' were enacted following the highly publicized fatal murders of Polly Klass and Kimber Reynolds who were 12 and 18 years old respectively. This law states that if a person is convicted for two serious or violent felonies, third conviction; regardless of the nature of the crime for which the criminal is convicted, will allow the prosecutors to issue 25 years to life sentence in prison to the criminal. Thus, the law named as Three Strikes. The third crime could even be non-violent as stated above. Following the incident of the murder of two youngsters in March 1994, Governor Pete Wilson signed AB 971 into law which commonly is referred to as 'three strikes and you're out' criminal sentencing measure. Subsequently in the November of 1994, Proposition 184 was passed as a result 71.9% positive voter response.

Discussion

People voted for the Proposition 184 or the Three Strikes Initiative to be passed believing that it is only pertaining to the third felony by the felonious which needs to be either violent or serious to be counted as third strike, not knowing that it will allow the prosecutor to sentence the criminal for 25 years up to life term in prison on the basis of third crime being non-violent as still it will be counted as third strike. People believed that only third serious or violent crime would be counted as the third strike. This is the misperception on the basis of which people posited support for the measure.

Origin

As mentioned above, the origin of three strikes laws runs back to the murder of an 18 year old named Kimber Reynolds in the year 1992. Kimber was attacked by two men who tried to snatch her purse when she left the restaurant. In an attempt to snatch her purse, they shot her in the ear and she failed to sustain the wounds, dying 26 hours later. In the transition of this event, her father Mike Reynolds pledged that he would take stand against this to make sure that other kids and their parents do not go through this. The criminals who shot Kimber were found out to be repeat offenders, and this formed the basis of Mike's campaign who demanded for the repeat offenders to be imprisoned and kept behind bars through severe law enactments.

In the meanwhile eighteen months to the death of Kimber, Polly Klass; 12 year old got kidnapped who was the subsequently raped and murdered by Richard Allen Davis; yet another repeat offender. This strengthened the case of Mike Reynolds and thus this triggered the passing of Proposition 184, since then Reynolds has been actively trying to keep it effective, for it has been threatened time and again to be annulled or modified following the accusations of its inefficiency.

Enforcement in California

Around 28 states of the USA follow the statutes of Three Strikes Laws, but the impact of the law on California is of greatest magnitude. People voted for the California Proposition ...