Violent Crimes Reduction Essays - Criminal Law, Sentencing

Violent Crimes Reduction The actual "law" has five major moving parts. First there is the ballot initiative (i.e. Proposition 184), then there is the actual statute that was passed, and then there are three other code sections that identify the types of violations that count as "strikes" against you. Those other types of sections are labeled juvenile felonies, serious felonies, or violent felonies. In 1997 the Wisconsin State Assembly voted 86-8 to approve what many supporters call a "truth- in- sentencing" bill. The bill proposed that convicts should serve no less than 100 percent of their sentences as a get-tough-on-crime measure. The bill also would require prisoners to be under community supervision for at least 25 percent of their prison time after they are released. Wisconsin prisoners would stay behind bars for their entire sentence without any chance for parole. Both Three Strikes and Truth In Sentencing legislation have been advocated as punitive and deterrence strategies for reducing violent crime within our communities. Three Strikes laws impose long prison sentences for third felony convictions. These laws are designed to curb repetitive serious criminal behavior. Washington State enacted the first law of this type in 1993. Since then, more than two-dozen states and the federal government have enacted three strikes laws. The state of Minnesota doesn't have an official three strikes law, although it does have a law mandating a life sentence for certain sexual offenders who commit a third sexual offense. Minnesota requires a mandatory sentence of "at least the length of the presumptive sentence under the sentencing guidelines" for persons convicted of two or more prior felony convictions for violent crimes. Also, Minnesota's heinous crimes law requires the court to sentence an offender convicted of second-or-third-degree murder to the statutory maximum sentence if the offender was discharged from a prior "heinous crime" sentence within the past ten years . Robbery, theft, assault, and motor vehicle theft continues to decline. Is there a relationship between these types of crimes and those who are now incarcerated? It is generally recognized that a minority of criminals commit a majority of the crimes; therefore, one offender may be responsible for multiple incidents within a type of crime. In defending the three strikes legislation, California Governor Pete Wilson stated that two-thirds of violent crime perpetrated by less than 10% of convicted felons. He further related that during the first three years of the law, 2,900 violent criminals were imprisoned, while overall crime dropped 20%, with violent crime down 9.3% and property crimes down 14% . Most states have initiated tougher sentencing for habitual offenders and for crimes that have a link to additional criminal acts. Since 1990, the number of people in custody has risen more than 577,100 or 1,708 inmates per week. Today, more than 1.7 million people are confined in state, federal, and local correctional facilities. As the repeat offenders are taken off the streets, it is reasonable to expect that the repeatable crimes should significantly decline. In the 1980's, crime in Texas jumped 29% creating a ratio of eight crimes for every 100 citizens. During the 1990's, after the creation of additional prison space and a concerted effort to fill it with repeat offenders, the rate dropped to 5.6 crimes per 100, the lowest since 1973 . Some of the benefits and costs of the new law are that if fully implemented, the new law will reduce serious felonies committed by adults in California between 22 and 34 percent. This reduction in crime will be bought at a cost of an extra $4.5 billion to $6.5 billion per year in current dollars . The intent of the three-strikes law is, of course, to lock up repeat offenders longer, and that requires the construction and operation of more prisons. Some police and court costs may be saved in not having to deal so often with such offenders once they are locked up, but greater prison costs overwhelm such savings. Many questions arise when getting the new law all squared away such as alternatives. What would happen if the state got rid of"strikes" and instead guaranteed that those convicted of a serious crime serve their full sentence? In other words, what about adopting a law that sends those convicted of a serious felony to prison, eliminates "good time" for such felons so that they must serve their full term, and shifts some minor felons from prison to probation? It is necessary to compare the benefits and costs of the new law and these alternatives, relative to the old law. But for all the alternatives to