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 South Dakota, the three-strikes law is designed to impose harsher sentences on repeat offenders of serious crimes. While South Dakota does not have a three-strikes law identical to the federal statute, it does have habitual offender statutes that increase penalties for individuals with prior felony convictions. Specifically, under South Dakota Codified Laws (SDCL) § 22-7-8, an individual with two or more prior felony convictions may be sentenced to an extended term in the state penitentiary. The nature of the prior felonies and the current offense can influence the severity of the sentence. The federal three-strikes law, as outlined in 18 U.S.C. §3559(c), mandates a life sentence for a person convicted of a serious violent felony if they have two or more previous convictions for serious violent felonies or one or more serious drug offenses. The list of serious violent felonies includes crimes such as murder, sexual abuse, kidnapping, and robbery, among others. It's important for individuals in South Dakota to be aware of both state and federal regulations, as they could be subject to the federal three-strikes law if their crimes fall under federal jurisdiction.