Pubdate: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 Source: Log Cabin Democrat (AR) Copyright: 2002 The Log Cabin Democrat Contact: http://thecabin.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/548 Author: The Associated Press SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON 'THREE-STRIKES' LAWS WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court said Monday it will review whether some three-strikes-and-out sentencing laws result in unconstitutionally harsh prison terms, such as up to life behind bars for shoplifting videotapes from Kmart. The court agreed to hear appeals involving two California thieves sentenced to terms ranging from 25 years to life for small-time crimes that might otherwise have meant just a few months in jail. The Supreme Court will consider whether long sentences were unconstitutionally cruel or unusual punishment for a heroin addict who shoplifted videotapes worth $153 and an AIDS patient who shoved three golf clubs down his pants leg and tried to walk out of a pro shop. The court's eventual ruling could be limited to California, or it could make a more general statement about how far states may go in using similar laws to win long prison terms for relatively minor crimes. Twenty-six states and the federal government have some version of a three-strikes law, which typically allow a life prison term or something close to it for a criminal convicted of a third felony. Critics say the laws are too harsh and inflexible in general, and particularly so in California, which has the nation's strictest three-strikes law. It requires a sentence of 25 years to life in prison a third felony conviction. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth