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 Rhode Island, the three-strikes law is not as broadly defined or as stringent as the federal three-strikes law. The federal three-strikes law, found in 18 U.S.C. §3559(c), mandates a life sentence 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 one or more serious violent felonies and one or more serious drug offenses. Serious violent felonies under this law include a range of offenses such as murder, sexual abuse, kidnapping, and others, as well as attempts, conspiracies, or solicitations to commit these crimes. Rhode Island does not have a specific 'three-strikes' statute that mirrors the federal law. However, Rhode Island law does provide for enhanced penalties for habitual offenders under certain circumstances, which can include longer sentences for repeat offenders. These provisions are found within the state's general laws and are applied at the discretion of the courts, taking into account the nature of the offenses and the individual's criminal history.