Final answer:
Laws that enforce longer incarceration periods after a number of convictions are known as "three strikes" laws, part of the tough-on-crime era which greatly increased prison populations and influenced debates on the criminal justice system.
Step-by-step explanation:
Laws that authorize or mandate longer periods of incarceration after a certain number of prior convictions are called "three strikes" laws. These laws peaked in popularity during the 1990s and were emblematic of the tough-on-crime reforms of the 1980s and 1990s.
Under the "three strikes" rule, individuals could receive life sentences for a third felony conviction, even for nonviolent offenses. This policy contributed significantly to the overcrowding of prisons and the associated financial burdens on states for prison construction and maintenance.
These laws are part of a broader societal debate about the criminal justice system and its goals, whether they be deterrence, punishment, or rehabilitation.
Over time, policymakers and scholars have recognized the complex effects of these laws, including the exacerbation of racial disparities in incarceration, the creation of an aging prison population, and the cyclic impacts on poverty and crime.