Three Stikes Law :: essays research papers

Is the â€Å"Three Strikes and You’re Out† law cruel and unusual punishment? The purpose of my research paper is to analize how the â€Å"Three Strikes Law† helps to support our Constitution or violates it. I will discuss where the law came from and why we have it. I will also write about the positive and negative aspects of the law as a whole. I hope to be able to analize the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law as it relates to this subject. â€Å"In 1994 California voters approved a ballot initiative known as "Three Strikes and You're Out." Basically what it means is that people who are convicted of three felonies may end up facing life in prison.† There are some limitations though on how this law is executed. Not any felony constitutes a strike. For the first and second strikes only serious and violent felonies can count as a strike. Also some juvinille crimes can count. For the third strike any felony can be the final blow. While for the first two strikes it takes crimes like rape, kiddnapping, and robbery; the third strike can be a crime as simple as carring brass knuckles. This law â€Å"was enacted in 1994 after Polly Klaas was kidnapped from a slumber party in her home and murderedby Richard Allen Davis, who had two prior kidnapping convictions. The jury recommended that Davis be sentenced to death, and the judge imposed that sentence.† â€Å"On March 7, 1994, Governor Wilson signed into law AB 971 (Ch 12/94, Jones) referred to as the Three Strikes and You're Out criminal sentencing measure. In November, the voters reaffirmed the measure by overwhelmingly approving Proposition 184, an initiative that is essentially identical to Chapter 12. The measure is the most significant change to the state criminal justice system in more than a generation.† Govenor Wilson passed this law as part of his goal to crack down on repeat offenders and dangerous felons. The case of Richard Allen Davis was the prime example of how the law could be effective.