The three-strikes law was created in 1993 in California after the murder of Polly Klaas. It imposes life sentences for criminals convicted of three felonies, with the third being a serious or violent crime. While it aims to keep repeat offenders incarcerated, it has significantly increased prison populations and costs. Critics argue it punishes some non-violent offenders excessively. Organizations like F.A.C.T.S. are working to amend the law to make it more tailored and fair.

1. By: Kimberly Souza

2. Origin of the Law
• The, “Three Strikes You’re Out” law was
founded in 1993 by Gov. Pete Wilson (R-CA),
after the abduction and murder of 12 year old,
Polly Klaas.
• The law imposes life sentences for criminals
convicted of 3 crimes, with the last strike
typically being violent or serious felonies.
• Once Gov. Wilson initiated the law, other
states started to follow.

3. Imprisonment
• The USA has the highest rate of imprisonment
of any major nation.
• Even without 3 strikes legislation, California is
already the nation’s biggest jailer, with 1 out
of 8 prisoners occupying its cells.
• The 3 next largest state prison systems, New
York, Texas, and Florida, experienced only half
the growth of California.

4. Mandatory Sentencing?
• Before 1977, California had a system of
indeterminate prison sentencing for felony
offenders.
• Felonies such as: Second-Degree Murder, Rape,
Robbery, and Kidnapping, a convict may receive
a sentence of 1-25 years, or even 1 year, to life.
• Objective: To tailor sentences to behavior, to
confine the most dangerous convicts longer, and
to provide incentives for self-improvement.

5. Prison Population
• The federal prison population, through
mandated and determinate sentences, has
tripled in the past decade
• Under current policy, it will rise by 50% by the
century’s turn, with drug offenders accounting
for 60% of the additional prisoners.
• Out of 90,000 federal prison inmates, 1/5 are
low-level drug offenders with no current or prior
violence, or previous prison time.

9. Pros and Cons
PROS:
• 3 Strikes Law keeps recidivist criminals off the
streets for longer periods, preventing them
from committing additional crimes, and
harming society.
• Most of the crime nowadays is committed by
repeat offenders, the 3 Strikes Law is a way to
ensure justice is done, even if the system,
otherwise fails miserably.

10. Pros and Cons
CONS:
• The law adds more criminals, to an already crowded
and expensive prison system (it is expensive to keep a
person in jail for life, prisons are overflowing from the
massive growth in their populations, adding more
prisoners, some, who don’t deserve to be there.)
• An arrest of someone with two convictions, almost
guarantees the cost and time of a trial; if a two-time
convicted felon is once again arrested, it’s pretty much
guaranteed he will push for a trial, this will only add
more time and expense to an already over burdened
court system.

11. Solutions!

12. • According to “The F.A.C.T.S Organization,” (Families to
Amend California’s 3 Strikes) The most effective way
to reduce the severity of the 3 Strikes Law is to get a
proposition to amend the law on a California ballot.
Annette Summers of F.A.C.T.S informed us that the
most effective way to go about doing this is to make
sure that the proposition is on the ballot during the
vote for Governor or Senator. This way, more voters
will turn out, and there is a better chance of it
passing. The proposition to amend the 3 Strikes Law
would include: policies that would allow strikers to be
given another chance. The governmental
organization F.A.C.T.S. has many proposals that would
improve the current 3 Strikes Law.

13. More Solutions
• The F.A.C.T.S Organization wants to make sure that
felons don’t acquire a second or third strike for any
crime that is not serious or violent in strikers that
have been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison
under the 3 Strikes Law for non-violent, or non-
serious crimes are not re-tried under the
circumstances of the amended 3 Strikes Law.
• Only crimes committed after the law was passed in
1994 should be counted as strikes. Offenses
acquired, as a juvenile, should not be able to count
as a strike. Convictions older than 10 years should
expire, this would be called a, “Wash-out.” These are
the most effective measures that need to be taken in
order for the 3 Strikes Law to be fair to strikers.

14. This presentation
is dedicated to my
brother Richie
Peña.