Does a mandatory life without possibility of parole sentence violate the Eighth Amendment?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Guevara, B212555, No. LA055375 (Cal. App. 2010):
The length of the sentence alone does not warrant relief. (See Harmelin v. Michigan (1991) 501 U.S. 957 [111 S.Ct. 2680, 115 L.Ed.2d 836] [mandatory sentence of life without possibility of parole for possessing 650 grams of cocaine did not violate Eighth Amendment].) For example, California's Three Strikes law is not so disproportionate that it violates the prohibition against cruel or unusual punishment.
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