Some state legislatures—and the United States Congress—have enacted so-called three-strikes laws (or three strikes, you’re out laws) to help law enforcement deal with violent repeat offenders—sometimes called persistent offenders, or prior and persistent offenders. The federal three-strikes law is a statute—also known as the Violent Crime Control Act—located in the United States Code at 18 U.S.C. §3559(c).

Under the federal three-strikes law, a person who is convicted in federal court of a serious violent felony and who has previously been convicted (in state or federal court) of (1) two or more serious violent felonies, or (2) one or more serious violent felonies and one or more serious drug offenses—will receive a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.

Under the federal three-strikes law, serious violent felonies generally include federal or state offenses of (1) murder; (2) manslaughter (other than involuntary manslaughter); (3) assault with intent to commit murder; (4) assault with intent to commit rape; (5) sexual abuse and aggravated sexual abuse; (6) abusive sexual contact; (7) kidnapping; (8) aircraft piracy; (9) robbery; (10) carjacking; (11) extortion; (12) arson; (13) illegal firearms use; (14) illegal firearms possession; (15) attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of these criminal offenses; and (16) any other offense punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years or more that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against another person, or that involves a substantial risk that physical force against another person may be used in the course of committing the offense.

Three-strikes laws enacted by state legislatures vary from state to state—including what constitutes a strike offense—and are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Alabama, the three-strikes law, also known as the Habitual Felony Offender Act, is designed to enhance the sentences of repeat offenders. Under this state law, if a person has prior felony convictions, the court is required to impose a harsher sentence for each subsequent felony conviction. The nature of the prior felonies and the current offense can lead to mandatory life imprisonment, especially for violent felonies. This is similar to the federal three-strikes law, which mandates life imprisonment for a person convicted in federal court of a serious violent felony if they have two or more previous convictions for serious violent felonies or serious drug offenses. The federal three-strikes law, found at 18 U.S.C. §3559(c), includes a list of offenses considered serious violent felonies, such as murder, sexual abuse, kidnapping, and robbery, among others. Both the federal and Alabama state laws aim to deter repeat offenders by imposing more severe penalties for those with prior convictions for serious crimes.