viction for passing a forged check for $28.36.¹² In 1973, Rummel received his third conviction for obtaining $120.75 by false pretenses, an offense normally punishable by imprisonment for two to ten years. Because Rummel had two prior felony convictions, however, the prosecution elected to proceed under the recidivist statute, which carried a life sentence. Id. at 266.

Several factors influenced the Court's holding that Rummel's sentence did not violate the Eighth Amendment. First, the Court emphasized that the Texas statute required separate convictions and terms of imprisonment for each felony, such that a defendant must twice be convicted and twice serve time in prison before being eligible for a life sentence on his third conviction. Id. at 278. Second, the Court noted that it could not ignore the fact that under Texas' liberal parole policy Rummel would be eligible for parole in as few as twelve years. Id. at 280-81. Third, the Court stressed that prosecutors retained discretion to plea bargain or not invoke the recidivist statute "so as to screen out truly `petty' offenders who fall within the literal terms of" the statute. Id. at 281.

In Solem, the Supreme Court affirmed a decision of the Eighth Circuit holding unconstitutional a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for a seventime non-violent felony recidivist. The defendant Helm was sentenced under a South Dakota recidivist statute that provided for a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole and a $25,000 fine for a defendant who had"at least three prior convictions [sic] in addition to the principal felony." 463 U.S. at 281 (citing S.D. Codified Laws� 22-7-8 (1979)) (alteration in original). Helm had six prior felonies: three convictions for third-degree burglary, one in 1964, another in 1966, and the third in 1969;¹³ a fourth conviction

¹²This was a felony punishable by two to five years in prison. Rummel was sentenced to four years. Id. at 265-66.
¹³Third-degree burglary was punishable by up to fifteen years in the state penitentiary. Id. at 280 n.1.

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