Let’s be clear: the 3 strikes crime bill being proposed for Massachusetts has nothing to do with the stopping or reduction of crime.  If not for the kind of long-enduring negative impacts on people and families, and communities, the proposal could be described as silly.  We cannot describe it as silly, however, because there is a proven history of destruction of lives and communities associated with 3 strikes provisions in other states, at the same time that it has proven worthless in the reduction of crime.  Enactment of this kind of legislation will only lead to potential increase in the state’s prison population and unfairly burden impoverished people, but especially Black and Latino people, and especially young people.   It is a proposal that contradicts recent and widespread efforts to reform the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI), a system that is being acknowledged as a failure by increasing numbers of people and legislators in Massachusetts.  

A report issued by the Justice Policy Institute, Three Strikes and You’re Out, reports that such legislation has led to many people being incarcerated for relatively minor crimes.  In California, two-thirds of all persons imprisoned under its 3-Strikes law, committed nonviolent crimes.  Based on FBI crime rates reported, it was found that between 1993 and 2002, violent crime in 3-Strike states fell by 33%; in non 3-Strike states, however, crime decreased by 34.3%.  In lieu of the failure of the 3-Strikes approach as crime prevention, why are our state legislators considering a strategy that has been discarded by many organizations and professionals involved with designing anti-crime strategies?   And, why are our state legislators so anxious to adopt legislation that will have the effect of increasing racial divisions in the state?  The adoption of this kind of law will doubtless be ‘colorblind’.  But in its implementation it will adversely affect communities of color which tend to have significantly greater numbers of people without the resources to pay for defending themselves, or their children, in response to accusations of crime.  And, let’s be honest here: or have the resources to change or challenge, or even delete records of crime. 

This is not a game.  It is irresponsible at worst and goblin at best, to propose that - just like in baseball - when a hitter has three strikes he is out.  What a seductive but dangerous analogy, and arbitrary template, for the administration of justice and fairness. 

Acknowledgement: This article first appeared in a special issue published in Boston’s Blackstonian, “Say No to 3 Strikes Law in Massachusetts” (February/March 2012).

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board Member Dr. James Jennings, PhD is a Professor of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University. Click here to contact Dr. Jennings.