[LexBaird]

And just what do people think a twice-convicted felon is going to do with a forged identity?

He's not going to prison for lying. He's going to prison for a continuing history of felonious behavior.

[yarddog]

Well you beat me to it. Same idea.

[thoughtomator]

The statute violates the double-jeopardy rule. If he served his time for the previous convictions, then he paid the price.

26 years for lying is excessive by any rational standard - it's positively medieval.

A three-strikes rule is a cop-out. If justice is the goal, then the penalties for committing crimes need to be proportionate and appropriate. It's the lack of appropriate sentencing which led to the three-strikes rule; some restoration of real penalties, especially for violent crimes, is the solution. It's not this poor schmuck's fault that the California legislature hasn't the guts to do its job.