In the 1990’s, North Carolina, like most states, enacted common offender (or three strikes or repeat offender) laws. North Carolina has a few different statutes. The most important is the habitual character. Laws are usually inadequate as instruments of crime prevention.
But they are very hard. So if you have two offenses, be careful with the third. Three felonies, provided they were committed consecutively after each conviction, qualify a defendant for common criminal status.
Transcription:
Well we do. We don’t call it that. This is jargon from some other states but our situation is called a common felony or a common misdemeanor but it depends on your criminal history. It’s a weird part of the law because it’s a state, it’s not something you’ve done, you’ve committed a crime, and then they add an indictment that you’ve been convicted enough times that you’re a so-called are habitual offenders. The jury, in a separate trial, after you’re found guilty, consider it a formality, just look at the documents, and then you’ll be convicted. It’s odd as far as the legal formalities go, but in practice it means that in North Carolina you can be tried as a common criminal if you’ve been convicted of three felonies before being convicted of a fourth. . It significantly increases and increases the sentence depending on the crime you are convicted of. We also have, it’s unusual, but we have a common misdemeanor that makes it a crime and that applies to assault. If you have committed two or more assaults within a 15-year period and have been convicted of two or more assaults in North Carolina, your misdemeanor assault will be escalated to a felony if you receive your third assault that causes injury. You will be punished as a criminal.
Long story short, North Carolina has a three strike law, but it is different from other states and is not called a three strike law.
What are the penalties for each strike?
Penalties increase for each strike or felony conviction suffered by an offender and depend on the seriousness of the charge. For example, a person convicted of two violent felonies is considered a violent habitual offender and could face life in prison without parole depending on North Carolina’s sentencing policies and options.
Crimes in North Carolina range from Class A (the most severe penalties) to Class I (the least serious crimes). Penalties for each class include:
PRIOR RECORD LEVEL
(d) Maximum specified penalties for Classes F through I crimes. – Unless otherwise provided by law, a penalty for a specific crime For each minimum period of imprisonment in the table of subsection (c) of this section, expressed in months, the corresponding maximum period of imprisonment, also expressed in months, as indicated in the following table for Class F through Class I crimes, is the first number in each cell the table is the minimum term and the second is the maximum term.
(e) Fixed maximum sentences for Class B1 through Class E crimes for minimum sentences of up to 339 months. Except as otherwise provided in a statute providing a penalty for a particular crime, each minimum sentence of imprisonment in the table in subsection (c) of this section, expressed in months, is matched by the corresponding maximum sentence of imprisonment, also expressed in months as indicated in the table below for Class B1 through Class E crimes. The first number in each cell of the table is the minimum duration and the second is the maximum duration.