Interesting new report on 3-strikes in California

A new report on California's three-strikes law, entitled "A Primer: Three Strikes — The Impact After More Than a Decade," was released today by the state's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.  The report, which can be accessed at this link, appears to be a thorough and thoughtful (and very accessible) discussion of a number of important sentencing issues relating to California's very tough recidivism laws.  The introduction to the report explains its coverage: "we summarize key provisions of Three Strikes and You're Out; discuss the evolution of the law in the courts; estimate the impact of the law on state and local criminal justice systems; and evaluate to what extent the law achieved its original goals."

The report is discussed in this recent Los Angeles Times article, which highlights that the report finds that the three-strikes sentencing law "passed by California voters in 1994 costs the state $500 million annually in prison expenses — far less than originally predicted — but there remains no consensus on whether it has made the streets safer."  As revealed by the chart you can click on above, perhaps the biggest impact of the three-strikes law (despite its name) is felt by criminals found guilty of a second strike.