Pubdate: Thu, 20 Apr 2000
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2000 The New York Times Company
Contact:  229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036
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Author: Robert Gangi, Executive Director, Correctional Association of New York
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n503/a01.html

AMEND THE DRUG LAWS

To the Editor:

Re "For a Paralyzed Inmate, Rigid Drug Laws Are the Crueler Trap" (Our 
Towns column, April 16): The Rockefeller drug laws, passed in 1973, require 
a minimum sentence of 15 years to life for the sale of two ounces or the 
possession of four ounces of a narcotic substance. The penalties apply 
without regard to the circumstances of the offense or the individual's 
character and background.

Also, these drug laws do not distinguish between minor and major 
participants in the drug trade. A drug kingpin is hardly ever caught 
carrying narcotics, while a low-level drug courier might be picked up on 
the street and charged with a felony. New York policy makers can stop the 
miscarriages of justice by enacting an amendment to the Rockefeller drug 
laws that allows judicial discretion in narcotics cases.

Robert Gangi, Executive Director, Correctional Association of New York, New 
York, April 17, 2000
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