Gee 'B', --- where does the constitution give a legislature the right to jail you for life for stealing a golf ball?
The constitution doesn't give the FEDERAL government the right to regulate state crime. Each state has the power to regulate crime as it sees fit, within the Bill of Rights. States are sovereign, with respect to crime. The Constitution limits the Federal government, but reserves the unspecified aspects to the States and the people.
My problem with the three strikes law is that it can be unjust. It makes no provision for mercy. As others have pointed out on this thread, the root cause is unjust judges. But the Constitution does not protect us from unjust laws. That's why legislatures are elected. We control the laws. We get the laws we want and can change the ones we don't like.
I prefer crimes of property to be punished by indentured servitude. The criminal becomes the servant of the victim until they have paid off their debt, or until they die, or until they're forgiven by the victim, whichever comes first. This will clear out our prisons.
Violent crime, murder and rape, and kidnapping, should be punishable by death or life imprisonment. No other penalty. A crime with a life long effect should have a life long punishment.
Tenth Amendment. This is a state matter, and the Tenth does by default reserve to the states the right to be stupid in certain matters.
State legistlature passes LAWS and if they are NOT against the STATE'S CONSTITUTION or the US CONSTITUTION then they HAVE THE RIGHT TO IMPOSE whatever sentence that is in the LAW. The USSC ruled in essence that the 10th Amendment applies and that it is a state matter.