Understanding the Impact of the Three Strikes Laws to Offenders and to Essay

Understanding the Impact of the Three Strikes Laws to Offenders and to Law Enforcement - Essay Example Since the court can impose a very high penalty when the offender is convicted for the third time, most offenders would be more careful not commit another offense, especially after the second strike. Over the years, different states across the country have adopted the three strike laws. At present, the following states implement this law Washington, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, North Dakota, Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia (White, 2006). The effects of the three strikes laws and their implementation vary from state to state. Some states require that all three crimes committed should be violent crimes while others apply the three strike laws if the two previous crimes committed by the person is either serious or violent or both (White, 2006). For instance, in the state of California, if a person has been convicted three times, that person may be given the mandatory 25-to-life sentence (Zimring, et. al., 2001). The harsh punishments given to habitual criminals helped cut the crime rates especially in the state of Califo rnia (Reynolds, 2004). Although the enactment of the three strikes laws provides strong deterrent to committing crimes, these laws also have weaknesses and these weaknesses often create problems in the implementation of the laws. According to critics, a large number of repeat offenders actually slip from the law without being charged so they may not be subjected to the three strikes law (White, 2006). Critics of these laws believe that the application of one-size-fits-all sentence to repeat offenders is unfair and unreasonably harsh (Reynolds, 2004).  

Compare and contrast the positions of one or more neo-Marxist or Essay

Compare and contrast the positions of one or more neo-Marxist or post-Marxist theorists of ideology with those of the classical Marxist tradition - Essay Example It is reasonable to assume that public sentiment and government economic policies (usually informed by contemporary economists noted above) are pulling in opposite directions. And the tensions created by these opposing tendencies are already giving rise to widespread social unrest, as shown by the emergence of the global solidarity movement and the World Social Forum. (Frankel,1997, p.58) In this context, it makes for an interesting exercise to understand contemporary interpretations, revisions and adaptations of Marxism, which have come to be termed variously as neo-Marxism and post-Marxism. Some of the leading figures in the neo-Marxist movement are Georg Lukacs, Antonio Gramsci, Max Weber, Karl Korsch and others. To a lesser extent French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and Frankfurt School founders Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno contributed to the broader understanding of traditional Marxist theories. One of the driving forces for neo-Marxist and post-Marxist thought is the perceived inadequacies of conventional Marxist ideology in explaining and providing solutions to common politico-economic problems. For example, in the century and a half that has passed since Marxs original theoretical formulation, only a few violence-ridden revolutions have taken place – a fact that belies Marxs prophecies on communist revolutions. The establishment of socialist regimes at the end of such revolutions too have not lasted for long (barring the case of China). Even politically overhauling events such as the two world wars have not spurred the implementation of communist ideology in a meaningful manner. While the erstwhile Soviet Union was nominally a communist state, in reality it was a brutal dictatorship not hesitant to crack the whip on its own masses. In the case of China, which is considered the last bastion for Marxist