We may well have made a pact with the devil. My fear now is that the devil is soon coming for his due.

It was a bargain that lured Republicans and Democrats. In response to a dramatic rise in crime beginning in the early '80s, fueled in part by the crack epidemic, we demanded that elected officials set a get-tough policy that would lock up criminals and throw away the key. Three strikes, you're out. Do the crime, do the time.

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