A New Tool for Confronting Habitual Offender Laws: Their Eugenic Origins

Eugenicists argued that criminality was inherited and said the only way to stop the spread of crime was to stop criminals from reproducing. To accomplish this goal, they advocated for long prison sentences that would effectively prevent individuals from reproducing. Daniel Loehr urges criminal defense attorneys to use this disturbing history when representing clients charged under habitual offender laws to develop constitutional challenges and educate the court.