California’s Three Strikes Law
By Virginia L. Landry
Apr. 28, 2011 4:37p
The state of California has enacted the "three strikes law." The three strikes law requires the state courts to hand down a mandatory period of incarceration to people who have been convicted of a felony on three or more occasions. In the United States, 26 states have enacted some form of a habitual offender law, and California is one of the harshest states.
The term "three strikes" originally came from baseball, where the batter is allowed two strikes before striking out on the third. The first "three strikes" law was passed in 1993 by Washington state voters approving Initiative 593. California followed, when Proposition 184 was passed by a landslide in 1994, with 72% of voters in favor of the proposition. The popularity of habitual offender laws, caused other like initiatives to sweep across the nation, where by 2004, 26 states had laws set in place, where a third felony conviction brings a life sentence.
In California, the supporters of Proposition 184 believed that implementing the "three strikes" law would reduce crime by; imposing sentence enhancements, thereby removing repeat criminals from the general population, by restricting their ability to go out and commit more crimes and, they argued that the threat of such long sentences would discourage certain offenders from committing new crimes. If you have been charged with a felony offense that would count as a "strike" on your record, contact a criminal defense attorney right away.
How Three Strikes Works
If an individual already has one serious felony or violent felony on his record, then the sentence for a second offense is twice the regular term, regardless if it is a violent felony or not. These offenders are referred to as "second strikers."
When a person has two previous serious felonies or violent felony convictions on his or her record, the sentence for any third felony conviction (not just a serious or violent felony) is life imprisonment, with the minimum term of 25 years. People under this provision are called "third strikers."
Irvine Criminal Defense Lawyer
If you have been arrested for a serious or violent felony offense, then contact a Irvine criminal defense attorney from The Law Offices of Virginia L. Landry, immediately for help. Felony convictions can quickly add up, especially if you were charged with multiple offenses during the commission of a crime. Before you know it, you can be sentenced to life in prison. We will investigate every aspect of your case, and search for any mitigating circumstances that may serve to get the charges against you reduced, so that you may have a more favorable outcome in your case.
Contact a Irvine criminal defense attorney from our firm for a free case evaluation.
