The "3 Strikes" proposals are based on the mistaken belief that focusing on an offender after the crime has been committed, which harsh sentencing schemes do, will lead to a reduction in the crime rate. "3 Strikes" Laws Are Not A Serious Response To Crime Such laws offend our constitutional traditions.ġ0. Several California proposals provide that the first two felonies must be "violent," but that the third offense can be any felony, even a non-violent crime like petty theft. Pennsylvania's proposed law treats prostitution and burglary as "strikes" for purposes of imposing a life s entence without parole. Many of the "3 Strikes" proposals depart sharply from the proportionality rule by failing to take into consideration the gravity of the offense. "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." This principle, known as "proportionality," is expressed in the Eighth Amendment to the Bill of Rights: Individuals should not be executed for burglarizing a house nor incarcerated for life for committing relatively minor offenses, even when they commit several of them. Under our system of criminal justice, the punishment must fit the crime. Let the Punishment Fit the Crime - A Constitutional Principle He is sent to prison for the rest of his life."ĩ. "An 18-year old high school senior pushes a classmate down to steal his Michael Jordan $150 sneakers - Strike One he gets out of jail and shoplifts a jacket from the Bon Marche, pushing aside the clerk as he runs out of the store - Strik e Two he gets out of jail, straightens out, and nine years later gets in a fight in a bar and intentionally hits someone, breaking his nose - criminal behavior, to be sure, but hardly the crime of the century, yet it is Strike Three. To explain why they opposed the law's passage, they described the following scenario: In an open letter to the Washington State voters, more than 20 current and former prosecutors urged the public to vote against the "3 Strikes" proposal. "3 Strikes" Laws Will Impose Life Sentences on Offenders Whose Crimes Don't Warrant Such Harsh PunishmentĪlthough "3 Strikes" sponsors claim that their purpose is to protect society from only the most dangerous felons, many of the "3 Strikes" proposals encompass a broad range of criminal conduct, from rape to minor assaults.
Today, one in four young black men is are under some form of criminal sanction, be it incarceration, probation or parole.īecause many of these laws include drug offenses as prior "strikes," more black than white offenders will be subject to life sentences under a "3 Strikes" law.Ĩ. Why? because the police find it easier to concentrate their forces in inner city neighborhoods, where drug dealing tends to take place on the streets, than to mount more costly and demanding investigations in the suburbs, where drug dealing generally occurs behind closed doors. This imbalance is largely the result of the "war on drugs." Although studies show that drug use among blacks and whites is comparable, many more blacks than whites are arrested on drug charges. African American men, in particular, are overrepresented in all criminal justice statistics: arrests, victimizations, incarceration and executions. Racial bias in the criminal justice system is rampant. "3 Strikes" Will Have a Disproportionate Impact DJ Pooh also stars in 3 Strikes, alongside N'Bushe Wright and Brian Hooks.7. He quickly learns, however, that trouble has a way of finding him, no matter where he goes. Under the "three strikes and you're out" law, another brush with the police could mean life behind bars, so he's determined to stay out of trouble. A young African-American man is enjoying his freedom after his second stretch in prison.
Noted hip-hop producer DJ Pooh, who co-wrote the urban comedy Friday, makes his directorial debut with this comedy-drama.
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