But in the Court of Appeal today, the Crown's appeal against Harrison's sentence was dismissed, and its appeal against Turner's sentence was only partially granted in that his minimum life sentence was increased from 15 to 17 years.
The three-strikes law came into effect on June 1, 2010. It requires a person convicted of murder after committing a "serious violent offence" to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, unless that would be "manifestly unjust".
The crux of the appeals against Harrison and Turner's sentences regarded the meaning of "manifestly unjust".
The Court of Appeal concluded the "low culpability" of Harrison's offence, along with his attempts to rehabilitate, age, and the views of the victim's family, would have made a life sentence "grossly disproportionate".
Meanwhile, the Court concluded, although the circumstances of Turner's offending were brutal, his age, guilty plea and mental health difficulties made a whole life sentence grossly disproportionate.