3 strikes and death sentences don't pass the smell test with it comes to "reforming" people, so we need to be honest about what we really want - is it to reform people or just exile them? Everyone is being disingenuous here.
I'm not writing this intending to endorse three strikes laws or death sentences, but you're arguing against a point that I don't think is being made.
(Now, my own personal opinion is that we ought to be taking a closer look at why the penal system is doing such a poor job reforming criminals, and that "3 strikes laws" feel a lot like "we've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas".)