In October 1993, Polly Klaas, a twelve-year-old girl in Petaluma, California, was kidnapped and murdered by Richard Allen Davis, a man with a lengthy criminal record. Davis had been convicted and jailed three times for violent crimes before killing Klaas, and he had been released from prison only three months prior to the kidnapping. The case became the focal point for the campaign to adopt a “three strikes, you’re out” law in California, mandating a life sentence for a criminal convicted of three violent felonies. Californians hoped that this new law would prevent future crimes like the murder of Polly Klaas.

Many conservatives support strict criminal justice measures, such as “three strikes” laws, as an effective way to prevent crime. Bruce Fein, a lawyer and freelance editorial writer, is among those who maintain that the...