Ten years of California's three strikes law from the graduate school.

摘要

March, 2004 marked the 10-year anniversary of California's "three-strikes" law, which allows a person convicted of three felonies to be put away for life. Thousands of people have been locked up under the law, many of whom committed non-violent, petty offenses as their third crime. This story explains why this can happen under the law, why it has outraged civil rights groups, and what they are doing to try and change the law come this November. In this story, viewers will be introduced to one man, now serving life for a series of residential burglaries, and how the law, if changed, would release him from prison. Viewers will also come to understand some of the perceived benefits that California has seen because of the law, and why some people, as a result, want the law to remain as is.