I said a defence of three strikes would require wilful blindness about effective sentencing. So let's talk about how three strikes actually works. If you're sentenced for one of the three-strikes offences, your first strike, you get a warning only on top of a normal sentence for your actions. But if you're then sentenced for another three-strikes offence, that's your second strike, you get a final warning and you serve any jail time for your actions in full. That means you get a normal sentence but no option for parole. In the third strike sentence, you must be given the maximum sentence for your offending and serve it in full. So whatever you've done, you serve the maximum sentence, no matter whether that is completely out of step with any other offenders serving that time for a very similar offence to your own or in very different circumstances to your own. 