- Date
- September 2004
- Author
- Eric Lotke
On the 10th anniversary of the enactment of three strikes laws in the United States, Open Society Foundations grantee Justice Policy Institute compares the crime and incarceration rates of states that have the strikes laws with those that do not. Among the findings are:
- Most states with three strikes laws rarely used them—the exception being California, which "struck-out" more offenders than the 20 other states with similar laws combined.
- The majority of people incarcerated under three strikes laws are non-violent offenders.
- States without three strikes laws actually saw greater decreases in violent crimes than those with three strikes laws.
Read more
Homicide Reduction
Q&A: How One Colombian City Is Tackling Violent Crime
Palmira, Colombia, is one of the most violent cities in the world. But a prevention program focusing on youth has reduced crime significantly—and earned it an international peace prize. The city’s mayor on what’s working.
In Remembrance
Lani Guinier’s Overlooked Education Legacy
The late Lani Guinier thought deeply about the intersection between education and criminal justice. Her leadership at Open Society helped pave the way to colleges across the country offering higher education to the incarcerated.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Challenging Mexico’s Abusive Preventative Detention System
Mónica Esparza’s case is one of the most notorious cases of extreme gender violence carried out by Mexican authorities. What her story teaches about how to combat the country’s scourge of gender-based violence.