California's Three Strikes law is just plain evil - nothing short of demonic. So, we should model our justice system on the game of baseball?!!? What the hell are Californians thinking?!
Imagine if we were to apply "three strikes" to all other aspects of our lives. Imagine if a child who failed three years of school was forever disqualified from receiving any further education (that'll teach 'em!!!) Imagine if a person who got divorced three times was henceforth barred from ever being able to marry again. The idea is simply preposterous, so why in hell do we think that it makes sense to apply such a rule to criminal justice? It's an outrage that there are people who are now locked away for life for committing - in some cases - fairly tame felonies.
When designing prison terms, the ostensible goal is to make the punishment fit the crime. But the terms of prison sentences are largely ineffectual as a deterrent. We can divide society into two groups: those who commit punishable crimes and those who don't. The people who commit crimes invariably believe that they won't be caught and so do not consider the sentences for such crimes.
For those who do not commit crimes, it is more likely to be the fear of public embarressment and having to live with a criminal record and have that constrain their career opportunities that acts as a deterrent to committing crimes. Then, you need to add to this the fact that most people have no useful understanding of the kinds of sentences that might be imposed for certain crimes in order for the different lengths of prison sentences to effectively exert different levels of deterrent.
Mankind has tried to use punishment as a deterrent against errant behavior throughout history - with little success. I believe that a focus on punishment as a means of addressing criminal behavior is a simplistic, immature, and rather ineffective means of managing society. Rather, for criminals we need to focus on reparations and rehabilitation. And for the larger problem of crime itself, we need to look at social change - addressing the problem at its root cause.