Garcia

MEMORANDUM **

Donald Garcia appeals the district court’s judgment and order denying his habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1). He argues that his sentence of life imprisonment without parole imposed pursuant to Washington’s Persistent Offender Accountability Act (“POAA”) is unconstitutional. Wash. Rev.Code §§ 9.94A.555, 9.94A.570.

Because the state court decision denying Garcia’s claim was neither contrary to nor an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court, the district court properly denied Garcia’s habeus corpus petition. The state court conducted an adequate proportionality analysis in determining that Garcia’s sentence was constitutional under the Eighth Amendment. The Washington state constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment is more protective than the Eighth Amendment’s, as state courts are required to conduct a proportionality analysis which examines the nature of the offense, the legislative purpose behind the statute and *530 the length of the defendant’s sentence compared to sentences imposed for similar crimes both in Washington and in other jurisdictions. State v. Rivers, 129…