Revised Three Strikes sentencing regime introduced

The Three Strikes legislation looks to be making its way back with the introduction of the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill (Bill) to Parliament in June this year. The three-strikes law was first enacted in 2010 by the National government as part of its agreement with Act.
Under the regime, an offender convicted of their first strike offence would be warned of the consequences of a repeat strike offence. If convicted a second time, they would be required to serve any prison sentence in full without parole, and be given a final warning. For a third strike offence, they will be required to serve the maximum penalty for that offence, without parole unless the court determined this would be manifestly unjust. If a person on their second or third strike was convicted of murder, they would receive a life sentence without parole, unless the court considered this would be manifestly unjust.
The Bill’s explanatory note underlines that the Bill responds to the increase in violent crime reported to the Police between 2019 and 2024, and that by reinstating the regime the Government is reassuring the public by sending a strong message that repeat serious offending has very serious consequences.
The Bill will include the principal elements of the legislation repealed by Labour in 2022, with some modifications as outlined below.
The Bill adds ‘strangulation or suffocation’ to the previous list of 40 qualifying offences; this was considered to be a matter of consistency.
With a focus on serious offending, the Bill introduces a threshold where an offender would need to receive a sentence of 24 months or greater to trigger the application of the regime. This responds to concerns that the previous law was capturing minor offending and handing out disproportionately harsh outcomes beyond what was necessary to deter repeat offending.
A modified approach to murder sentencing would also be applied, with the mandatory period of imprisonment increasing at each strike (minimum 17 years at second strike and 20 years at third strike). Under the previous regime the minimum for either second or third strike was 20 years.
The ‘manifestly unjust’ exception, guided by principles in the Bill, would be extended to apply to all mandatory elements of the regime (both sentence and parole), and both second and third strikes. This would allow an element of judicial discretion to address outlier cases and recognise manifest injustice at each stage.
The Bill will introduce a limited exception that would allow the court to reduce the term of imprisonment where the offender pleads guilty. For murder at stage-3, a guilty plea would result in a minimum imprisonment of 18 years as opposed to 20. This change is seen as being in the interests of avoiding re-traumatising victims, and to reduce court delays.
The Bill is now with the Justice Committee, with its report due on 1 November 2024.