Kinda depends on the offense. For petty crimes I think it makes sense, for more serious violent ones I think it may be underkill. Probably a different answer for adults vs kids.
On a flight from Denver to Atlanta once I sat next to a retired Sherriff who had become a consultant on recidivism and how to reduce it. His first comment was that we had too many people in jail, and most sentences were way too long.
He said that for most people spending just a few months in jail is a traumatic experience and a good deterrent, spending longer tends to damage the person and make recidivism more likely. On the other hand he said there were some people who were not able to resist criminal activity, no matter the sentence. He said that about 75% of people in jail shouldn't be there and 25% should never get out. He was a strong proponent of the 3 strikes thing, with reasonably but not too lengthy sentences the first two times, then no getting out ever after the third.
I think that probably makes sense, except for someone who takes a life or lives either by murder or gross negligence. It may not be a good idea to give these people the chance to do it again, too much at risk. One strike is probably enough.
I can see some logic in that, but in your day I don't think the Marines allowed women, what did he do with them.
And I am not sure its a good idea to staff our military with criminals, one would need to be careful who this was applied to.
