dimpy.handa
Dimpy Handa
Should so-called "three-strikes" laws be repealed?
One effect of mandatory sentencing, and of three-strikes laws in particular, is the rapid growth of the prison population. The United States now locks up a higher proportion of its population than any comparable developed nation, yet many of those imprisoned for a great many years are non-violent offenders convicted of relatively minor drug offences or shoplifting. All of this comes at a very high cost to the taxpayer and is rapidly becoming unaffordable in a period of economic hardship. It is also notable that prison guard unions have spent heavily in favour of such mandatory sentencing, which favours the narrow economic interest of their members rather than the society they are meant to serve.
One effect of mandatory sentencing, and of three-strikes laws in particular, is the rapid growth of the prison population. The United States now locks up a higher proportion of its population than any comparable developed nation, yet many of those imprisoned for a great many years are non-violent offenders convicted of relatively minor drug offences or shoplifting. All of this comes at a very high cost to the taxpayer and is rapidly becoming unaffordable in a period of economic hardship. It is also notable that prison guard unions have spent heavily in favour of such mandatory sentencing, which favours the narrow economic interest of their members rather than the society they are meant to serve.