Not quite.
According to a little web research I dug up, how it works is, the third (fourth in some states) shoplifting conviction is a felony. If you have two felonies already, THEN you violate the 3 strikes criteron, and you go down the road to Chain Gang for 'life', which is really 20 years in sentencing. Most state prisons make you do 2/3 time, so 20 years translates to a little less than 14 years. That, to me, seems reasonable for habitual felons.
Signed,
Hard-core Chain-Gang Lazamataz. (I'm so bad-ass, I'm gonna get a temporary tattoo!)
Lazamataz wrote: "According to a little web research I dug up, how it works is, the third (fourth in some states) shoplifting conviction is a felony. If you have two felonies already, THEN you violate the 3 strikes criteron"
My reply: In California, shoplifting is a felony if you have any prior conviction for any theft-related crime (another shoplifting, burglary, auto theft, etc). However, a shoplifting conviction is NOT a "strike" under our three-strikes law - even a felony shoplifting offense. A "strike" is only "a serious or violent felony".
Hope that helps