Does 50 Years to Life for Shoplifting $153.54 Worth of Videotapes Violate the Eighth Amendment?
Lockyer v. Andrade Docket No. 01-1127 From: The Ninth Circuit Case at a Glance Leandro Andrade was convicted in state court of two counts of shoplifting $153.54 worth of children’s videotapes from K-Mart. Because he had at least two prior felony convictions, California’s “Three Strikes” law applied. As required by that law, he was sentenced to consecutive sentences of 25 years to life. The question now is whether the total sentence of at least 50 years imprisonment with no possibility of parole is “grossly disproportionate” to Andrade’s crime and thus violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishments.” • Previewed by Ian Heath Gershengorn, a partner with Jenner & Block, LLC in Washington, D.C.
