Three Strikes
Penal Overkill In California?

California’s three-strikes law says that if someone commits a third felony after committing two prior similar felonies, then the sentence is a mandatory 25 years to life.

In such a case, Leandro Andrade was given not one but two sentences of 25 years-to-life for stealing nine children’s videotapes, including “Snow White,” “Cinderella” and “Free Willie 2.”

The tapes were worth $153.54, and lawyers for the state of California argue that the penalty is both correct and constitutional. But the other side argues that Andrade’s punishment is cruel and unusual. Correspondent Dan Rather reports.

“I’m not a killer. I’m not a rapist. I’m really not a bad person once you get to know me,” says Leandro Andrade, a 44-year-old convict who may make legal history. “Do I deserve to be locked up for the rest of my life, because a certain judge feels that’s what he deserves?”

Under his sentence, Andrade will be 87 before being eligible for parole.

Andrade got the 25 years doubled for two cases of shoplifting, which became his third and fourth strikes under California’s law. His first two strikes were for home burglaries that were committed back in 1983. Neither involved violence. In fact, Andrade didn’t carry a weapon with him for either burglary.