In this Article, Sir Leon Radzinowicz and .Dr. Roger Hood trace 150 years of unsucces.iful English '!/forts to identify, sentence, and reform habitual criminal off"enders. The Supreme Court's recent decision in Rummel v. Estellea has publicized habitual off"ender statutes in the United States. But Rummel primarily addressed the constitutionality, rather than the desirability, of a state habitual offender statute. b This Article examines the broader policy questions common to habitual offender programs in both the United $tales and Great Britain. It describes the tension between liberal tradition and the state's desire to incapacitate those who repeatedly threaten l!fe or property. The British experience with habitual offender legislation, like that in the United States, encompasses numerous statutory formulations, commission reports,• and statistical surveys. And the British experience, like that in the United States, has been one of high hopes and repeated disappointment. While there are major d!fferences between British and Americanc approaches * This paper grew out of the authors' research into the history of English criminal law and its administration in the nineteenth century, which is being generously supported by a grant from the Home Office. We are indebted to Dr. Philip Jenkins for his assistance.
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