Literature ReviewThree Strikes: Original IntentRepeat offenders are perhaps the most difficult offender population for the system to manage, and "protect communities from these offenders may be the most emotionally and politically charged challenge to the criminal justice system” (Dickey & Hollenhorst, 1999). Although most states passed laws targeting career criminals, policymakers and the public continued to push for harsher penalties for repeat offenders throughout the 20th century (Brown & Jolivette, 2005). As a result, strict sentencing laws were enforced, such as the three strike laws which required that a person convicted of a crime, having previously been convicted of one or more crimes, receive an increase Sentencing (Brown and Jolivette, Essentially, there is a basic assumption that offenders rationally choose to commit a crime and that they are all treated fairly throughout the legal process. However, these assumptions are questionable when evaluating the three strikes laws, which are not always applied equally has been examined as it raises concerns about its legality and constitutionality The lack of clarity of the three strikes laws has. raised questions regarding "convicting juveniles without the right to a jury trial as being a strike, and whether courts have the power to overturn a decision." third crime case, whether crimes committed in other states can be considered strikes", and so on (Brown & Jolivette, 2005, p.1) The most important challenge is the assertion that three strikes violate the 8th Amendment, against cruel and unusual acts. punishment, in the sense that a repeat offender can be sentenced to 25 years to life for a conviction of a non-serious or non-violent crime (Brown and Jolivette, 2005). Some also believe that three strikes violates the "rule of proportionality" in sentencing, because the sentence does not fit the crime, as "a relatively minor crime committed by a repeat offender could result in a much larger sentence." more severe than a violent crime committed by a repeat offender. a first-time offender” (Brown and Jolivette, 2005,