Pubdate: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 Source: Daily Gazette (NY) Copyright: 2000 The Gazette Newspapers Contact: P.O. Box 1090, Schenectady, NY 12301-1090 Fax: (518) 395-3072 Website: http://www.dailygazette.com/ Author: Marnie Eisenstadt - Gazette Reporter TOUGH STATE DRUG LAWS ATTACKED AS INEFFECTIVE, COMPLICATING PROBLEMS (Loudonville) - On Saturday, Sen. John R. Dunne spoke out against New York's mandatory sentencing laws. But 25 years ago, he was one of the very people who championed that legislation. "The unhappy conclusion is that this measure did not work," Dunne said of the laws, commonly referred to as the Rockefeller laws after Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. "These laws have handcuffed our judges and denied treatment to our addicts," Dunne said. He and the other speakers at the Forum on New York State Drug Sentencing Laws at Siena College on Saturday spoke of the need to change the laws that mandate sentences for people who possess and sell drugs, and even more stringent sentences for those convicted of two drug felonies in 10 years. These laws have crowded the prisons with people who would be better off getting treatment for drug and alcohol addictions, Dunne said. He said mandatory sentencing has been one of the greatest contributors to the increase in the prison population from 12,000 in 1973, when the laws were enacted, and 72,000 currently. The forum was sponsored by the college and the New York State Catholic Conference, both of which support the repeal of the Rockefeller laws. The Rev. Peter Young, who was an advisor to Rockefeller when he was in office, also spoke out against the laws. He said he was surprised when the governor supported the laws. "I said, `Governor, what happened?' He said, `We tried it the soft way,' " said Young, now 70. When a young college student and bartender in Albany, Young realized that he wanted to help addicts take control of their lives. Now pastor of the Blessed Sacrament Church in Bolton Landing, Young also directs the Altamount Program, which offers drug and alcohol treatment services across the state. Young also developed a drug and alcohol treatment program for inmates while the chaplain at the Mt. McGregor Correctional Facility in Saratoga County and developed treatment programs for other state prisons, as well. - --- MAP posted-by: manemez j lovitto