Across the nation, prisons and jails are overflowing. According to the Bureau of Justice, prisons are operating on average between 99-108% of capacity. Thirteen states are operating at more than 100% capacity. In 2005, California had a prison population 168,982 in a system designed for 87,250 prisoners. The Bay Area’s San Quentin currently has 5,247 prisoners in the 3,302 prisoner capacity prison.

Old San Quentin from the Prison Culture Blog (before Johnny Cash ever visited!)

Prison overcrowding has occurred due to much more stringent sentencing laws being implemented across the country. In California, the Three Strikes Law has led to a dramatic spike in the state’s prison and jail population. According to one study, from its enactment through 2005, Three Strikes led to more than 100,000 individuals being sentenced. In any other state with similar laws, no more than 400 have been incarcerated.

Three Strikes in California dictates that if a defendant has previously been convicted of a serious or violent felony, a second felony will result in an automatically doubled sentencing. Also, if a defendant has two or more strikes, a third strike automatically receives a 25 years to life sentence. The kicker is that the third strike does not have to be serious or violent. Technically, passing a fraudulent check can send a previous felon to prison for 25 years or more.

In other states, the list of crimes that can invoke a “three strikes” sentencing is very short and specific.

The Three Strikes Law could be considered effective because since its enactment, robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft have decreased, most likely due to deterrence from planned crime. On the other hand, crimes of passion, such as murder and rape, have not been affected by the law.

California’s Three Strikes Law is largely not considered cost effective. For the very minor decreases in certain crimes, the costs associated with increased sentencing and overcrowded prisons are not viable. Other states that have more moderate three strikes laws are seen to exhibit similar decreases in crime.

All green states have a Three Strikes Law. The lighter green states have revised their laws to be less stringent.

Information on the Three Strikes Sentencing laws was gathered from Professor Elsa Chen’s study “Impacts of ‘Three Strikes and You’re Out on Crime Trends in California and Throughout the United States” found in the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice.