Florida’s 3 Strikes Law in Brief
The "three strikes" law, which is a form of "habitual offender" enhancement, was first enacted in 1999 in Florida. The legislature intended to heighten the potential sentences for habitual offenders for purposes of deterrence and public safety via this law.
Under the statute, if an individual has two previous felony convictions and then commits a third applicable felony or first-degree misdemeanor , that individual faces enhanced charges. For example, a third degree felony is typically chargeable as a maximum of five years. However, with the third strike the individual faces life in prison. In general, the "three strikes" law applies only to felonies. Certain misdemeanors can apply under certain circumstances.
Application of the 3 Strikes Law in Florida
The offense has to be either a felony punishable by death, or a violent felony of the first degree (such as murder or robbery with a firearm), a second degree felony (such as manslaughter or home invasion with a firearm), or a third degree felony (such as attempted first degree murder with a firearm). The law also includes several felonies that are not on the general lists of felonies such as a sexual battery on a child. In these cases, prosecutors have the discretion on whether to count an offense as a strike if it is at least a second degree felony. The law is applied when someone has two previous qualifying convictions and is charged with a new charge of a felony of the first degree, a capital felony, a felony punishable by life in prison, or a third degree felony committed with a firearm. In these cases, prosecutors will file a Notice of Intent to Seek Sentencing Enhancement Under the 10-20-Life Law which lays out the circumstances of the prior convictions and explains how the law should apply in the current case. At a preliminary hearing on the case, the judge confirms whether the referred convictions qualify as strikes against the defendant. If the law does apply, the judge has no discretion in the matter, and simply hands down the minimum increased sentences. For example, if the new charge is a felony punishable by life in prison, the judge is required to sentence the individual to life in prison without the option for parole. If the charge was a third degree felony committed with a gun, the judge must increase the sentence by a minimum of 10 years. These sentences cannot be reduced unless they are successfully challenged as unconstitutional, such as for violating double jeopardy rights, or for improper application of the 10-20-Life law.
Penalties Under the 3 Strikes Law
The penalties and consequences for offenders who fall under the 3 strikes law are steep. In many cases, the penalties are mandatory, meaning there is no room for negotiation in sentencing. This is meant to deter those who would take advantage of being a repeat offender to rob the state of Florida of having to press charges each and every time they commit the same crime.
In some states, it’s three strikes and you’re out. In Florida, the third strike simply means a minimum of 25 years in prison. There’s no parole and no lowering of sentence and no possibility of early release due to good behavior. The standard time served in prison is 25 years, with an additional five years added on if any co-defendants or accomplices were convicted. If the defendant ever committed a third degree felony against a victim less than 18 years old, the sentence is a minimum of life in prison. Florida also has its own version of the Jessica Lunsford act, which provides for a minimum of 10 years in prison for sexual offenders who have a history of violence and require offenders to be added to the sexual predator registry.
In practical terms, these penalties can change the lives of the offenders forever. This means that three misdemeanors, even for something relatively innocent as petty theft, can end up costing someone 25 years behind bars. And unfortunately, it doesn’t stop with the offender. For one, Florida has 67 counties, all with different jail systems. In truth, the inmates serve minimal time in any county because it costs the government far too much to house a large number of prisoners for long. As of 2020, it cost $40.64 a day to house each inmate, or $14,861 a year to house each inmate. By comparison, the average Florida salary is just over $54,000 a year. That would mean the state is spending almost 30 percent of the average salary just to house the inmates.
Prison sentences place a significant burden on the state of Florida. With the revolving door of the judicial system, many of the same offenders are back in the court system in the span of a few years. It costs the state more to keep the prisoners in jail. It’s important to remove the repeat offenders to allow the state to grant harsher sentencing for third-time offenders. This is one of the primary reasons the three strikes law exists.
Controversy and Criticism
One of the main criticisms of the 3 strikes law in Florida is the potential for disproportionate punishment. Critics argue that the law does not take into account the severity of the offenses or the context in which they were committed, often resulting in lengthy sentences for relatively minor crimes. Because Florida’s law does not provide for parole, defendants convicted under the law face long prison sentences with no chance for early release.
Opponents of the law also argue that it disproportionately affects low-income and minority communities. The law applies equally to all offenders, regardless of socio-economic status. However, those who cannot afford legal representation may be more likely to plead guilty, thereby triggering the minimum mandatory sentence for the crime they committed plus the enhancement for prior convictions. Additionally, research has shown that African Americans, on average, receive harsher sentences than their white counterparts for similar criminal offenses. This disparity, coupled with the impact of the 3 strikes law, has led to an overrepresentation of minorities in Florida’s prison system.
Another point of contention is a lack of evidence supporting the law’s effectiveness at deterring crime. Some studies indicate that three-time offenders account for a substantial portion of all crimes, which proponents of the law use as a rationale for its enforcement . Other studies, however, have questioned the validity of this correlation. Critics suggest that the law fails to address underlying issues related to criminal behavior and is simply a punitive measure that does not contribute to the ultimate goal of reducing crime rates.
Furthermore, opponents of the law criticize what they see as disparities in sentencing among offenders convicted of the same third-degree felony. Under Florida’s law, third-degree felonies are subject to the minimum mandatory penalty if the offender has been convicted of two prior sexual or violent felonies. This can lead to circumstances where offenders who committed relatively non-violent crimes, such as theft, face life sentences because of their prior criminal history. There is concern that the different sentences for third-degree felonies undermines the equal application of law and leads to inconsistencies in sentencing.
In response to these criticisms, some legislators in Florida have called for reforming or abolishing the 3 strikes law altogether. There is debate among lawmakers and within the legal community about how best to address the issues associated with the law. Beyond the 2019 amendment, the Florida legislature has not made any further changes to the statute since it was enacted in 1999.
Amendments and Updates
Over the last couple of decades, Florida’s 3 strikes law has faced challenges, as well as some tough scrutiny, by both the people of Florida as well as the courts. In 2010, an Orlando man accused of stealing four video games was sentenced to 25 years in prison because he had three prior drug-related felonies, which under the law at that time made him ineligible for any kind of parole, even though the current state sentencing guidelines would only have required a 3 year sentence. With the help of public policy reformers and an advocacy group called the Florida Smart Justice Alliance, Amendment 5 was passed unanimously by the Florida House and Senate and put before voters as Amendment 5 (Designated Drug Trafficking Offenses; Minimum Mandatory Sentences) , similar to a 2002 version of the amendment. The new Amendment 5 would give judges the discretion to impose a sentence other than life in prison for certain drug offenses. After no opposition to the bill was expressed by the Florida government, voters passed the bill with 73% voting "yes" in November 2010. Still, there are other changes and amendments to the law being considered to provide even more leeway to judges when it comes to sentencing individuals to life in prison without parole. Currently, a 3-time offender facing up to life imprisonment is essentially facing a de facto death penalty, even though judges do have some discretion in their sentences. This, still, is hardly the "fair trial" that the 5th Amendment guarantees, and people are calling for more reform.