Valkyrie
18th April 2002, 22:42
The U.S. Supreme Court will review whether California's tough 'three strikes' law violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The court will review whether a shoplifter who stole videotapes deserved 50 years to life and whether a man who stole golf clubs deserved 25 to life.
Leandro Andrade was convicted of stealing videotapes worth $153 from Kamart stores in 1995. He was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison under California's tough "three strikes" law that allows misdemeanors to be classified as a felony in certain cases.
A state court upheld the sentence, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, ruled it unconstitutional. California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer appealed to the Supreme Court.
The justices also agreed to hear an appeal from Gary Ewing who was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for stealing golf clubs worth $1,197 from a Los Angeles golf course in March 2000. He had four prior robbery and burglary convictions, paving the way for state attorneys to upgrade the normally misdemeanor charge to a felony.
Twenty-six of the 40 states with progressive sentencing for repeat offenders have "three strikes and you're out" provisions. The California law, however, allows misdemeanors to be classified as felonies in order to trigger to the "three strikes" provision for possible life sentences.