U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has introduced legislation aimed at strengthening federal penalties for repeat offenders by revising the “three strikes” sentencing framework.
The proposed Career Criminal Accountability Act would create a pointsbased system to determine when offenders qualify for enhanced sentences, with a focus on violent crime, firearm- related offenses and organized criminal activity.
The bill, introduced during the 119th Congress, has been referred to a House committee for consideration.
Under the bill, different types of convictions would count as fractional or full “strikes,” with misdemeanors counting as a quarter strike, nonviolent felonies as half a strike, and certain firearm-related and violent felonies counting as a full strike.
Judges would be required to determine whether a defendant qualifies as a “three-strikes offender” when imposing a sentence.
The legislation outlines enhanced penalties for qualifying offenders, including an additional 10-year sentence for certain nonviolent felonies, 15 years for firearm- related offenses and potential life sentences for those convicted of serious violent crimes with prior qualifying convictions.
“For too long, soft-oncrime policies have tied the hands of law enforcement and weakened sentencing, allowing career criminals to wreak havoc on our streets and forcing law-abiding Americans to pay the price,” Roy said in a statement. “The Career Criminal Accountability Act draws a hard line: if you repeatedly commit violent and serious crimes, you will go to prison for a long time.”
Supporters of the bill say it is intended to deter repeat offenses and improve public safety.
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