The article, "Does Three Strikes and Other Tough Approaches Work?" found in Taking Sides: Controversial Issues in Crime and Criminology, has to do with the controversial concept of using the "three strikes and you're out" law and other tough approaches. Some argue that these practices are forms of cruel and unusual punishments, but others find them to be ideal for keeping felons off of the streets. Eugene H. Methvin and Davis Shichor are two scholars who speak out about their opposing outlooks on this controversy.

Eugene H. Methvin, senior editor for Reader's Digest, believes that tough approaches do work. Methvin thinks children should be given early childhood intervention classes at an early age. When children and parents were given prevention classes, the children were less likely to be involved in criminal activity than the ones who did not have training. If the children can be rehabilitated early, their chances of a decent life are extremely high. Training should start as early as possible because some children start engaging in criminal behavior as early as 7 years of age. Methvin states that psychopaths are accountable for more than half of all serious crimes.

I think that the "three strikes" law should be repealed. From my understanding, it is costly. The money that is spent on this law should be spent on social programs such as crime prevention and education. Not only is the law wasting tax payer's money, it is overcrowding prisons. Overcrowding of prisons causes various problems. Logically, the more people the state has in it's prisons, the more fights that will break out. Overcrowding will also lead to sanitation problems. Sanitation in prisons is bad enough. But cramming three or four inmates in a cell designed for two will make it even worse and can lead to health problems among inmates. The "three strikes" law makes no distinction between violent and non-violent felonies. A third strike is a third strike under the law. This is highly unjust. The U.S. court systems enact punishments based on circumstances of the case. The courts should not lose this power. Judges have the power to sentence convicted criminals, but the "three strikes" law takes away that power by forcing judges to impose mandatory sentences. If we can educate families and especially the children as early as possible, we may be able to save a child from living a life of crime. I believe that a person's childhood learning experiences has a total effect

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Approximate Word count = 869
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)