CJ 2696 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Mandatory Sentencing

• School: Temple University
• Department: Criminal Justice
• Course: CJ 2696
• Professor: Tara Tripp

Document Summary

Three strikes laws emerged in the early 90s amidst public outrage over repeat violent offending that had drawn substantial media attention. During this same time, the war on drugs was drawing concern that crime was at an all time high. Along with the growing concern over rising crime rates, there was tremendous growth in prison expansion. All of these factors created the perfect scenario for three strikes legislation. The rst of cial three strikes law occurred in 1993 when the state of washington passed initiative 593 which encouraged sentencing three time, most serious offenders to prison for life without the possibility of parole . Speci cally, the people of washington intended for the following: Improve public safety by placing the most dangerous criminals in prison. Reduce the number of serious repeat offenders by tougher sentencing. Set proper and simpli ed sentencing practices that both the victims and persistent offenders can understand.