“Getting tough on crime” has been one of the favorite rallying cries of American politicians in the last two decades, and “getting tough” on repeat offenders has been particularly popular. “Three strikes and you're out” laws, which effectively impose a twenty-five-years-to-life sentence at the moment of a third felony conviction, have been passed in twenty-six states. California's version of the “three strikes” law, enacted in 1994, was broader and more severe than measures considered or passed in any other state. This book provides an examination of the actual impact this law has had. This bo ... More

“Getting tough on crime” has been one of the favorite rallying cries of American politicians in the last two decades, and “getting tough” on repeat offenders has been particularly popular. “Three strikes and you're out” laws, which effectively impose a twenty-five-years-to-life sentence at the moment of a third felony conviction, have been passed in twenty-six states. California's version of the “three strikes” law, enacted in 1994, was broader and more severe than measures considered or passed in any other state. This book provides an examination of the actual impact this law has had. This book looks at the origins of the law in California, compares it to other crackdown laws, and analyzes the data collected on crime rates in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco in the year before and the two years after the law went into effect. Chapters show that the “three strikes” law was a significant development in criminal justice policy making, not only at the state level, but also at the national level. It concludes with an examination of the trend toward populist initiatives driving penal policy.