Words
incarceration n. the state of being imprisoned; imprisonment, captivity; -> incarcerate v. to keep sb. in a prison or other places
methamphetamine n. / meθæm’fetəmi: n/ a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant 脱氧麻黄碱（中枢兴奋药）
serve v. to spend (a period) in prison
offender n. a person who commits an illegal act; a person or thing that does something wrong or causes problem
mugger n. a person who attacks and robs another in apublic place [compare with -> burglar]
preschool n. a nursery school (children between 3-5 years old); BrE kindergarten [compare with AmE kindergarten (children between 5-6 years old)]
incomprehensible a. not able to be understood; -> incomprehensibleness n.
outlier n. an extreme deviation from the mean
await v. [with obj.] wait for
tagging n. attaching an electronic tag [like what happened to Peter in The Good Wife!]
convict / 'kɒnvɪkt/ n. a person found guilty of acriminal offence and serving a sentence of imprisonment
sociopath n. a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behaviour
recidivism n. -> recidivist n. a convicted criminal who reoffends,esp. repeatedly
rounding (?? the expressing of a number with only aconvenient degree of exactness)
deterrent n. a thing that discourages or intended to discourage sb. from doing something
Phrases
…be no one’s idea of: nobody would assume … to be
drug treatment: the treatment of drug addiction
draw a pension: draw v. to receive
keep sb. in check: to keep sb. under control
rough neighbourhoods: a rough area/city/school is unpleasant and dangerous because there is a lot of violence or crime there
hard cases: (inf.) a tough or intractable (hard to control or deal with) person
fall on deaf ears: (of a statement or request) be ignored
Background information
federal mandatory minimum rules: Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require binding prison terms of aparticular length for people convicted of certain federal and state crimes. ... Most mandatory minimum sentences apply to drug offenses,but Congress has enacted them for other crimes, including certain gun, pornography, and economic offences.
e.g. see: http://famm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Chart-All-Fed-MMs-NW.pdf
“three strikes” rules: The three-strikes law significantly increases the prison sentences of persons convicted of a felony who have been previously convicted of two or more violent crimes or serious felonies, and limits the ability of these offenders to receive a punishment other than a life sentence. [ -> “three strikes out”!]