In Lockyer v. Andrade, the United States Supreme Court held the California Court of Appeal did not err in its interpretation of Court precedent. That court held that sentencing a convict under the California three strikes law to fifty years to life in prison for two counts of petty theft was not "contrary to" or "an unreasonable application of" Supreme Court jurisprudence. (28 U.S.C. [section] 2254(d)(1), 2003) The defendant, Leandro Andrade, had challenged his sentence under the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
On November 4, 1995, Leandro Andrade entered a Kmart in Ontario, California. (Lockyer v. Andrade, 2003) He walked over to the electronics section, looked around, picked up some videotapes, and put them in his pants. The videotapes he had selected were children's movies (Snow White, Casper, The Fox and the Hound, The Pebble and the Penguin, and Batman Forever) with a total value of $84.70. Andrade left the Kmart without paying for the videotapes and loss prevention personnel from the store apprehended him in the store parking lot, took the videotapes away, and had Andrade arrested for shoplifting.
Exactly two weeks later, on November 18, 1995, Andrade entered a Kmart in Montclair, California. (Brief of Respondent, 2003) After walking over to the electronics section, he selected some videotapes and put them down his pants. Once again, Andrade selected children's movies (Free Willy 2, Cinderella, Santa Clause, and Little Women) with a total value of $68.84. He left the store without paying for the videotapes; loss prevention stopped him in the parking lot, recovered the merchandise, and held him until the police arrived to arrest him for shoplifting. Andrade, in his statement to authorities, admitted to stealing the videos and asserted his theft was motivated by a heroin addiction that had plagued him since 1977...........
