Enactment By States
The following states have enacted three strike laws:
- In 1974: Texas PF Chap 12 shows the 3 strike law only changed the charge to a federal crime. Unlike the following states, where three convictions meant automatic life inprisonment
- In 1993: Washington
- In 1994: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, North Dakota, and Louisiana
- In 1995: Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin
- In 1996: Florida, Tennessee,and Virginia
- In 2006: Arizona
- In 2012: Massachusetts
They are formally known among lawyers and legal academics as habitual offender laws. They are designed to counter criminal recidivism by physical incapacitation via imprisonment. A person accused under such laws is referred to in a few states (notably Connecticut and Kansas) as a "persistent offender," while Missouri uses the unique term "prior and persistent offender."
Read more about this topic: Three Strikes Law
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