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 Minnesota, the three-strikes law is designed to increase the prison sentences of persons convicted of a felony who have been previously convicted of two or more violent crimes. Minnesota's version of the three-strikes law is codified in Minnesota Statutes section 609.1095. Under this statute, if a person has been convicted of a 'violent crime' on three or more separate occasions, they can be sentenced to life imprisonment. The definition of a 'violent crime' in Minnesota includes offenses such as murder, manslaughter, assault, criminal sexual conduct, robbery, and certain other crimes involving serious bodily harm or the use of a firearm. The federal three-strikes law, found at 18 U.S.C. §3559(c), mandates a life sentence for certain repeat offenders who are convicted in federal court of a serious violent felony, provided they have two or more previous convictions for serious violent felonies or serious drug offenses. The federal definition of serious violent felonies includes a list of specific offenses, such as murder, sexual abuse, kidnapping, and robbery, among others, as well as any offense punishable by imprisonment for 10 years or more that involves the risk of physical force against a person.