In 1993, Washington was the first state to pass the three strikes law which gives those who are convicted of three separate felony convictions a harsher penalty - most of the time, a life sentence. The law was made in order to keep those who had committed and been convicted of violent crimes in prison. Yet, the law has also changed circumstances for those who have also been convicted of three separate felonies that are not of a violent nature.

California legislatures passed its own three strikes law in 1994, (also referred to as the "Three Strikes and You're Out" law) because society desired a change to keep them safe. At that time period, some ex-felons had left prison and committed murder; due to this major concern, this law was passed. The rationale that the lawmakers held was that felons were the hardest group to penalize. It is alleged that many of them are not deterred by spending time in prison and are unresponsive to behavior alterations via incarceration. Therefore, the law was imposed for the following two reasons:

· To keep violent felons out of society; and to

· Threaten felons with two strikes with longer jail sentence periods

Those who are usually convicted of the three strikes law can be sentenced anywhere between 25 years to life in prison. By May of 1999, 24 states had passed this law, including Maryland, Kentucky, New Jersey, Utah and Florida. While legislatures passed these laws in order to keep those convicted of violent felonies in jail, the results have caused those convicted of all types of felonies to experience the penalties – even if the crimes were not violent in nature. One source reported that California's three strikes law terms are considered to be among one of the harshest penalties. Usually a jurisdiction has certain rules and is considered an independent system, but through California's law, even if a person committed a felony in a different state it is still considered a strike in the state of California.

There is currently no other option for a person charged of the three strikes law but to serve the sentence in prison. If someone committed a felony a number of years ago and then was convicted of another felony, the time difference between when the crimes were committed has no bearing to lighten the punitive action. Yet, due to prosecutors also believing that this law is harsh, they have provided certain policies in the Los Angeles County which make conditions that will lighten legality processes. Their policy states that they will only prosecute a case as a potential three strikes charge if the third charge is a violent crime.

Upon a conviction, the consequences of a three strikes case can be serious, however, there are many different ways to avoid a conviction with a skilled criminal attorney. For example, a defense attorney can file a Romero motion and ask a judge to eliminate a strike based on just grounds. Besides filing a motion, there are two other ways to overcome the three strikes law. Firstly, a lawyer could disprove the last charge. Without a charge there are no longer three felonies; they could also get the first or second conviction reduced to a misdemeanor if it is considered a "wobbler," which is a charge that could either be considered a felony or a misdemeanor. If you are being charged with a third felony in a state that has enacted the three strikes law, it is important that you contact a criminal defense attorney today.