Three Strikes and You Are Out, but Why? The Psychology of Public Support for Punishing Rule Breakers

This study examines why the public supports the punishment of rule breakers. It does so within the context of a recently enacted California initiative mandating life in prison for repeat felons (the "three strikes" law). Antecedents of three aspects of people's reactions to rule break...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Law & society review 1997-01, Vol.31 (2), p.237-265
Main Authors: Tyler, Tom R., Boeckmann, Robert J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
California
Communities
Crime
Crime victims
Criminal courts
Criminal law
Criminal sentences
Criminals
Fear of crime
Law (three strikes)
Moral judgment
Offenders
Psychological aspects
Public Opinion
Public Support
Punishment
Sentencing
Social conditions
Social conditions & trends
Social environment
Social psychology
Sociology
Sociology of law and criminology
Sociology of law and justice
State Government (California)
Three strikes laws
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Summary:This study examines why the public supports the punishment of rule breakers. It does so within the context of a recently enacted California initiative mandating life in prison for repeat felons (the "three strikes" law). Antecedents of three aspects of people's reactions to rule breakers are explored: (1) support for the three strikes initiative, (2) support for punitiveness in dealing with rule breakers, and (3) willingness to abandon procedural protections when dealing with potential rule breakers. The results of interviews with members of the public suggest that the widely held view that public punitiveness develops primarily from concerns about crime and the courts and is primarily linked to public views about risk and dangerousness is incorrect. While these factors do influence public feelings, they are not the central reasons underlying public punitiveness. Instead, the source of people's concerns lies primarily in their evaluations of social conditions, including the decline in morality and discipline within the family and increases in the diversity of society. These concerns are about issues of moral cohesion-with people feeling that the quality and extent of social bonds and social consensus has deteriorated in American society.
ISSN:0023-9216
1540-5893
DOI:10.2307/3053926