Several articles address Three Strikes laws in California, Washington, and other States in terms of their costs and benefits and impact on court caseloads. Other articles consider the effectiveness of Three Strikes laws, politics and crime control, costs associated with building more prisons to house Three Strikes offenders, mandatory life without parole for offenders convicted of a third violent felony, and the disproportionate effect of Three Strikes laws on blacks. Some articles question the effectiveness of Three Strikes laws in reducing crime and suggest that such laws do not address the real issue in crime control, to help individuals with violent tendencies before they commit crimes. References, figures, and photographs