III

To repeat, our review of state mandated sentences is circumspect and deferential. Nevertheless, Harmelin does require us to assess Appellant's sentence for gross disproportionality; this inquiry is limited to an examination of the gravity of the offenses and the harshness of the sentence. While petty theft offenses are admittedly not grave, Appellant's recidivist nature makes his current activity much more serious.

Appellant's criminal history commenced in 1982 with a misdemeanor theft. While on probation for this theft, he burglarized three separate residences in 1983, felonies resulting in Appellant's first and second strikes. In 1990 Appellant was convicted for a second misdemeanor theft. Then in 1995, Appellant was arrested for two separate shoplifting offenses --each elevated to felonies due to his prior theft convictions.

Under California's sentencing scheme, these 1995 shoplifting convictions amounted to Appellant's third and fourth strikes, which yielded two consecutive sentences of twentyfive years to life, totaling fifty years to life.⁴ This is not a

⁴It should be emphasized that Andrade's sentence is not one fifty-year sentence for thefts totaling $153.54. Appellant, in fact, is facing two consecutive twenty-five year sentences for two separate felony offenses. The Majority's comparison of Andrade's sentence to other"Three Strikes" defendants misses this point. (Majority Opinion 15286). Appellant's sentence is "twice as long" as the sentences of these other defendants because he as committed twice the number of offenses. See People v. Cline, 71 Cal. Rptr. 2d 41 (affirming sentence of 25 years to life for theft of clothing); People v. Goodwin, 69 Cal. Rptr. 2d 576 (affirming sentence of 25 years to life for stealing a pair of pants); People v. Terry, 54 Cal. Rptr. 2d 769 (affirming sentence of 25 years to life for stealing handbag left in open car). See also Pearson v. Ramos, 237 F.3d 881, 886 (7th Cir. 2001) ("in any rate it is wrong to treat stacked sanctions as a single sanction. To do so produces the ridiculous consequence of enabling a prisoner, simply by recidivating, to generate a colorable Eighth Amendment claim."); Haw-

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