A second strike doubles the sentence. A third can end a life. California's Three Strikes law is the most consequential sentencing scheme in the state, and it operates on prior convictions that are often decades old, frequently misclassified, and sometimes not strikes at all. Prior strikes can be challenged. They can be struck under People v. Superior Court (Romero). And whether an allegation qualifies as a strike in the first place is a legal question that deserves a lawyer who will litigate it rather than concede it.