America is the world leader in ideas, of course we mean 3 Strikes and You’re Out
When confronted with problems, foreign countries envy “Yankee Ingenuity” that delivers solutions. Many of these ideas, inventions and solutions come from the least likely places, peoples’ garages, basements and in the case of 3 Strikes, a backyard.
These home fashioned configurations are often referred to as “out of the box” thinking. Most inventions will fail or prove themselves rather quickly. Something that is designed to “reduce crime” is a social change that requires a longer period of time from which to draw conclusions.
Nearly all social changes will have both supporters and detractors. Predictions prior to the passage of 3 Strikes were made by each side. Fifteen years have passed and we have seen results that have exceeded our best predictions.
As to the forecast of its detractors, they have simply failed to materialize.
Today 3 Strikes still has its opposition, primarily from third strikers and their families and a few liberal law professors who refuse to accept the obvious.
People intelligent enough to “wait and see” have come to support 3 Strikes and its effectiveness, realizing crime and criminals must be confronted. To fail to do so only begets more crimes and greater violence.