Midway through Dan Lungren's eight-year tenure as California's attorney general, the state adopted a law with the power to send a pizza thief away for life.
Experts are skeptical.
Democrat Lt. Gov. Gray Davis' persistent lead in most polls. California's law was one of the first and toughest of similar measures since enacted in 24 states. Cities used federal dollars to hire more policemen and set up prevention programs like midnight basketball. The crime rate had been falling before the law took effect. Rand Corp. A felon with one prior strike for a violent or serious crime faces a sentence of double the normal term for any new felony.