From wiki =>
"Under the Rockefeller drug laws, the penalty for selling two ounces (57 g) or more of heroin, morphine, "raw or prepared opium," cocaine, or cannabis or possessing four ounces (113 g) or more of the same substances, was a minimum of 15 years to life in prison, and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison."
Crime still shot up in NY like it did everywhere else. So much for your argument.
And when this lax enforcement of laws resulted in (caused, because there actually is a mechanism to show how this happened) an explosion in crime rates, only then was there a real push-back among the people, who voted for minimum sentencing and three strikes laws.
As you said, the first 3-strike law was passed in 1993. Another passed the following year, and I'm assuming others were passed in subsequent years.
Crime peaked in '93-'94 and has plunged ever since. You are asking us to believe that such laws had an immediate and profound effect so as to bring this about. And this after 2 decades of skyrocketing incarcerations, and at least 2 Drug Wars failing to put a dent in the crime rate.
In addition, it does not explain the fall in crime in states that didn't pass these laws until well after crime started its plunge, or that never passed such laws in the first place. Your hypothesis is not credible.
"Under the Rockefeller drug laws, the penalty for selling two ounces (57 g) or more of heroin, morphine, "raw or prepared opium," cocaine, or cannabis or possessing four ounces (113 g) or more of the same substances, was a minimum of 15 years to life in prison, and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison."
Crime still shot up in NY like it did everywhere else. So much for your argument.
A. This law was only in New York. In California, at the same time, marijuana was a misdemeanor, much like a traffic ticket.
B. The portion of it that pertained to marijuana was repealed in 1979.
C. Mandatory sentencing and increased punishment were enacted when the United States Congress passed the Boggs Act of 1952. The acts made a first time cannabis possession offense a minimum of two to ten years with a fine up to $20,000; however, in 1970, the United States Congress repealed mandatory penalties for cannabis offenses.[4] With the passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 Congress enacted different mandatory minimum sentences for drugs, including marijuana. And,
C. You are the one claiming to see a correlation between marijuana laws and crime rates, not me. As I already pointed out, there is not even a weak correlation. And any causative mechanisms that exist between drug laws and crime are far too complex to be hinted at by a simplistic calculation of correlation.
As you said, the first 3-strike law was passed in 1993. Another passed the following year, and I'm assuming others were passed in subsequent years.
The 3 strikes laws were not the only factor. Pushing for longer minimum sentences had an effect, as well. To put it simply, it is exceedingly difficult for a criminal in prison to commit crimes. And, since we the people have been pushing back against leniency towards criminals since the 1980s, more of them *are* convicted, and more of them *are* incarcerated for longer terms that keep them off the streets for longer periods of time. BTW, that Wiki article on minimum sentencing had almost no useful information other than what I quoted above. It seemed to be more of a sociology essay, meant to influence opinion. Furthermore, it seemed focused almost exclusively on drug laws, but I wanted info on all criminal laws.