Georgia’s “Three Strikes” law is a sentencing rule that imposes significantly harsher penalties on individuals who have been convicted of multiple serious crimes than they might have faced had the repeat offense in question been a first offense.
Modeled after federal and other state-level habitual offender statutes (including California’s), Georgia’s version of the law aims to keep repeat violent offenders behind bars for longer periods. The “Three Strikes” law in Georgia specifically targets those convicted of serious violent felonies. Under Georgia Code § 17-10-7, if a person is convicted of a second serious violent felony, and they already have a prior conviction for a similar crime, they face mandatory sentencing without the possibility of parole or probation. On a third conviction, the law mandates that the person be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
How does this law play out in practice?
Crimes considered “serious violent felonies” in Georgia include:
- Murder
- Rape
- Armed robbery
- Kidnapping
- Aggravated child molestation
- Aggravated sodomy
- Aggravated sexual battery
A key feature of the Three Strikes law is that it removes discretion from the sentencing judge once these criteria are met. This means that a judge cannot reduce the sentence, offer probation or allow parole—even if there are mitigating circumstances. As a result, defendants facing a second or third strike must take their defense very seriously, as the stakes are incredibly high.
Critics of the law argue that it can lead to overly harsh sentences, particularly in cases where a defendant’s role in a crime was minimal or where a significant amount of time has passed between offenses. Nonetheless, Georgia’s courts are bound to apply the statute as written, and any prior qualifying conviction can count as a strike—even if it occurred in another state.
In some cases, an effective defense can prevent a third-strike conviction altogether, such as by achieving a plea deal on lesser charges that don’t trigger mandatory life sentences. Early legal intervention is often the best way to identify these opportunities and protect a defendant’s rights and future.