Unintended Consequences of the Three-Strike Law (Marion and Olivier, p. 350. The state of Washington was the first to implement the three-strikes law; the state of California quickly followed suit with a broader version of the law. The law of three offenses mandates a life sentence for offenders who have been convicted three times for serious crimes. Although adopted versions of the law vary by state, some states reduce the discretion of the judge while. others allow some discretion. For example, the state of California requires twenty-five years to life in prison for any individual. One of the problems with implementation was prison overcrowding. found that during the first twelve months of implementation, the prison population increased significantly, but the number of incarcerations stabilized and declined. Additionally, due to the increase in new incarcerations, thousands of less violent prisoners had to be released. Additionally, studies have shown that the three strike laws have had unintended consequences. Two studies have shown that the three strikes law has not reduced the number of homicides. In fact, the law had the opposite effect. A study by Marvell and Moody showed that criminals facing life in prison for a third strike are more likely to commit a third offense. Additionally, Kovandzic, Sloan, and Vieraitis presented data on homicide rates that increased after the passage of the Three Strikes Law, from 1980 to 1999 (Marion et al., 2012). The basic idea of these studies was this: if a criminal faced life in prison with a third strike; this individual has nothing to lose by murdering a police officer to escape arrest. Therefore, the three-strike law could have worsened the problem of violent crime instead of deterring it (Marion et al..,

Essay / Unintended Consequences of the Three-Strike Law (Marion and Olivier, p. 350. The state of Washington was the first to implement the three-strikes law; the state of California quickly followed suit with a broader version of the law. The law of three offenses mandates a life sentence for offenders who have been convicted three times for serious crimes. Although adopted versions of the law vary by state, some states reduce the discretion of the judge while. others allow some discretion. For example, the state of California requires twenty-five years to life in prison for any individual. One of the problems with implementation was prison overcrowding. found that during the first twelve months of implementation, the prison population increased significantly, but the number of incarcerations stabilized and declined. Additionally, due to the increase in new incarcerations, thousands of less violent prisoners had to be released. Additionally, studies have shown that the three strike laws have had unintended consequences. Two studies have shown that the three strikes law has not reduced the number of homicides. In fact, the law had the opposite effect. A study by Marvell and Moody showed that criminals facing life in prison for a third strike are more likely to commit a third offense. Additionally, Kovandzic, Sloan, and Vieraitis presented data on homicide rates that increased after the passage of the Three Strikes Law, from 1980 to 1999 (Marion et al., 2012). The basic idea of these studies was this: if a criminal faced life in prison with a third strike; this individual has nothing to lose by murdering a police officer to escape arrest. Therefore, the three-strike law could have worsened the problem of violent crime instead of deterring it (Marion et al..,

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