Aren Connecticuts “Persistent Offender” laws an adequate substitute for three strikes?
A. No. Until May 2008, these laws did not impose a mandatory minimum sentence for “persistent dangerous felony offenders” (the kind of repeat violent criminals who are the focus of our three strikes initiative). Until that time, this law imposed a maximum sentence for these criminals but did not require that they be sentenced to any minimum sentence let alone a tough mandatory minimum prison sentence. In May 2008, improvements to this law were enacted whereby two- and three-time offenders must be sentenced to minimum sentences that are twice and three times, respectively, the minimum sentences required by the law for the crimes for which they are convicted. That sounds good, but in reality this law remains weak because the minimum sentences for most of these crimes are very low, i.e., one to five years. Connecticut still does not have a law that requires a tough mandatory minimum sentence for repeat violent criminals.
