The Justice Committee is calling for submissions on the Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill. The bill seeks to repeal what is commonly known as the “three strikes law”, which mandates prison sentences for people convicted three times of serious violent offences.
The closing date for submissions is 11.59pm Friday, 07 January 2022
The three strikes law was implemented through the Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010, which introduced a three-stage system to increase penalties for repeat offenders of qualifying serious violent offences, as listed by the Act. Through the three strikes law, someone convicted of a qualifying offence for a third time must have the maximum penalty without parole imposed on them, unless the court determines that this would be manifestly unjust.
Repealing the three strikes law would have the effect of allowing Judges to consider an offender’s individual circumstances and background, and to approach outcomes on a case-by-case basis. This bill is an omnibus bill that would amend multiple Acts including the Sentencing Act 2002 and the Parole Act 2002.
Tell the Justice Committee what you think.
- Submissions are publicly released and published to the Parliament website. Only your name or organisation’s name is required on a submission. Please keep your contact details separate, as if they are included on the submission they will become publicly available when the submission is released.
- If you wish to include information of a private or personal nature in your submission you should discuss this with the clerk of the committee before submitting.
- If you wish to speak to your submission, please state this clearly.
Article Credit: New Zealand Parliament
