... and reuniting adults and juveniles in the same prison system. Shouldn't we be learning from the mistakes of the past? Obviously that's not what the Congress thinks because 15 states have now made it possible to allow prosecutors (not a judge) to decide whether children arrested for crimes ranging from rape, to shoplifting, to drug charges should be dealt with in the juvenile or criminal justice system. While ... criminals. These criminals become role models for the youth. Lock up a thirteen year old with murderers, rapists and robbers, and guess he"ll want to be when he grows up? In the...

• Word Count: 630
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a 25 years to life sentence for a felony third-strikes offense committed after two serious or violent felonies" (Hughes). The three strikes law has put a wide variety of criminals behind bars. Cases range from murder and rape to burglary. Opponents of the law will point to cases such as Ronald Herrerra's. He was sentenced to 25 years to life for stealing $12 ... knowledge refers to what virtually everyone knows" (Kelly, 120). According to a survey of 604 offenders housed at Challenger Memorial Youth Center (an all-male, residential lock-down facility), 78 percent of them understood the ...

• Word Count: 808
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography

... years to life in prison. Is his sentence justified? When Californians enacted a Three Strikes law in 1994, they never intended to lock up someone who steals pizza or cake (real life situations) for 25 years to life. The objective of the Three Strikes Law was represented as an effort to put potential murderers, rapists, and hard-core violent criminals in prison for a ... Angeles and Sacramento counties, where prosecutors applied the law broadly to all felonies. I propose a bill to reorganize the Three Strikes Law in California, making the punishment fit the crime. The bill will be tough ...

• Word Count: 1172
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate