Is the Three-Strike Rule Unfair?

The ‘Three Strikes and You’re Out’ rule was embraced in 1994, and continues to exist despite the widespread resentment. The law was established to eradicate the high crime rate in the U.S, but it has hardly proved fruitful. The purpose of the law was to prevent offenders from repeating violent and serious felonies. When an alleged criminal strikes for the third time, he/she will be sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in jail. The rule might not sound harsh for murderers, rapists, drug lords, and million dollar robbery executors, but the outcome is questionable for individuals involved in petty thefts and possession of drugs in negligible quantities.

According to Criminal Defense Attorney Walnut Creek, CA, about 40% of criminals who have received a life sentence due to the Three Strike Law are mentally inept, i.e. they are kleptomaniacs caught stealing insignificant items. They simply cannot help themselves and they don’t realize the consequences of their foolish behavior. People have been punished with up to 50 years in prison for shoplifting a pair of socks or snatching a slice of pizza. The legal authorities believe that this strict and inflexible protocol could discourage people from committing felonies, but the results beg to differ.

Let us assume that 1 million individuals committed 3 million homicides in a given period. On the contrary, another 1 million individuals stole 3 million items worth less than $5 each. How does it make sense to hand them identical penalties? The violent crime rate would be much less if the offenders were severely dealt with on the first attempt. Why allow them to repeat their brutal actions twice more in the first place. If you think about it, the three-strike rule further aggravates the situation for repeat convicts. They apparently have nothing to lose on their third strike, motivating them to go all out. They are likely to make the most of their final warning, by expanding the scope of damage they can instigate.

Another point to contemplate is that how come white collar criminals are able to get away with minor consequences after embezzling billions of dollars, whereas people arrested for pinching a few food items amounting to less than $10 in total have to spend the remainder of their life in jail. The saddest part of the three-strike law is that the chances of parole are next to nonexistent. Prisoners are allowed parole after 25 years, but the majority of cases are rejected. Demonstrating good behavior in prison and transforming into a better person doesn’t help either. As a result, many good people who broke the law out of need or some other discrete reason turn bitter over time. Many repent on the slip of their morality and wish they were given a second chance.

Innumerable petty thieves are subject to hefty fines that are worth more than 100 times of what they stole. They are forced to work off their fines in jail and are paid in pennies; therefore, they will have to provide their services for life to compensate for the amount they owe. On average, the government spends almost $50,000 a year to support each of these prisoners. The sick and elderly require additional funds for healthcare; many of them are dying, yet the legal authorities refuse to release them.

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