<P> In the United States, habitual offender laws (commonly referred to as three - strikes laws) were first implemented on March 7, 1994 and are part of the United States Justice Department's Anti-Violence Strategy . These laws require a person guilty of committing both a severe violent felony and two other previous convictions to serve a mandatory life sentence in prison . The purpose of the laws is to drastically increase the punishment of those convicted of more than two serious crimes . </P> <P> Twenty - eight states have some form of a "three - strikes" law . A person accused under such laws is referred to in a few states (notably Connecticut and Kansas) as a "persistent offender", while Missouri uses the unique term "prior and persistent offender". In most jurisdictions, only crimes at the felony level qualify as serious offenses; however, misdemeanor offenses can qualify for application of the three - strikes law in California, whose harsh application has been the subject of controversy . </P>

When did the three strikes law take effect