But, as we learned from the Court last week, if you're a poor dumb crook, who swipes a few CDs three times, the Court says the punishment of life imprisionment does *Not* have to be proportional to the actual damages, under the three strikes laws. Theft of a CD is not a felony and therefore would not fall under the "three strikes" rule. However, using a gun to take a CD from someone is a felony and would fall under the "three strikes" rule. If you use a gun, the implication is that you will kill the person if he/she does not comply. Under those circumstances, life imprisonment in exchange for the very real threat of killing someone is highly proportional.
The Supreme Court Cases on the three strikes rule had nothing to do with using a gun.
*California charged respondent Andrade with two felony counts of petty theft with a prior conviction after he stole approximately $150 worth of videotapes from two different stores. Under California's three strikes law, any felony can constitute the third strike subjecting a defendant to a prison term of 25 years to life. The jury found Andrade guilty and then found that he had three prior convictions that qualified as serious or violent felonies under the three strikes regime."
The opinion is LOCKYER v. ANDRADE at:
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/01-1127.ZS.html