There are many reasons why mandatory-sentencing laws are ineffective and

counterproductive. The first reason is that many people go to jail for very small crimes.

Washington and California passed a law in 2004 called the "three strikes law," where if

someone is a two time felony offender and gets another felony they are sentenced a

minimum of 25 years in prison even if they commit a misdemeanor offence. Most of the

people who go to jail because of the "three strikes law" are minor drug offenders and

when they are sent to jail they are exposed to worse and harder criminals which makes

them more likely to commit greater felonies which makes this law counterproductive.

There are about 2 million Americans behind bars roughly half of them are in jail for

nonviolent crimes. America spends about 31 billion on corrections which is twice what it

spent 10 years ago. There is no room in jails anymore due to overpopulation. The three

strikes law is......

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Title: Social Problems
Approximate Word Count: 821
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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