Justice minister says law introduced by previous government was a ‘kneejerk reaction to crime’ that failed as a deterrent
New Zealand’s Labour government has repealed the controversial “three strikes” law under which a mentally ill man was sentenced to seven years in prison for trying to kiss a stranger in the street.
The law, introduced by the previous National-led government, forced judges to automatically give a maximum sentence to any criminals who had committed three serious sex, violent or drug crimes over their lifetime – regardless of the timeframe of offending, discretion of the judge, or other mitigating factors.
Labour had promised to repeal the law, which it said was “ineffective” and responsible for “absurd outcomes”.
The justice minister, Kiritapu Allan, said on its repeal that the three-strikes law was “a kneejerk reaction to crime” that resulted in disproportionate and excessive sentences.
“There was no evidence that it worked. It failed to be a deterrent to offenders, it failed the taxpayer, and it failed victims, because it ensured they were in the system for longer,” she said.
Allan noted that judges still retained the power to issue lengthy sentences and could impose the same restrictions as provided by the three-strikes law “in appropriate cases”.
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