Pubdate: Sun, 29 Jul 2001
Source: Times Union (NY)
Copyright: 2001 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation
Contact:  http://www.timesunion.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/452

DRUG LAW REFORM: NOW

Gov. Pataki's Latest Proposal, While Still Flawed, Provides Momentum

Gov. Pataki's latest proposal for reforming the state's draconian 
Rockefeller drug laws holds out hope that some compromise reform might be 
within reach this year. It should be. After 27 years on the books, the 
Rockefeller statutes have proven to be failures at deterring drug crime. 
But they have caused miscarriages of justices and led to an explosion of 
the state's prison population.

Mr. Pataki's latest proposal restores momentum to the reform process. The 
fact that he was willing to improve on his original proposal is 
encouraging. But there is still a long way to go before his latest plan can 
approach genuine reform.

Mr. Pataki's original reform proposal provided for some relief for those 
convicted of the most serious felonies, classified as A1, that involved 
sale or possession of drugs. Under the Rockefeller drug laws, these crimes 
carry mandatory sentences of 15 years to life -- a punishment that has been 
meted out to first-time, nonviolent offenders. Advocates of reform have 
noted, correctly, that these sentences are disproportionately harsh 
compared to those imposed for other violent, non-drug crimes.

But A1 cases make up a relatively small number of inmates in a prison 
population of 70,000. Many more are sentenced for drug dealing as Class B 
felonies, a second tier of serious offenses that can result in sentences of 
12.5 to 25 years. Mr. Pataki has now addressed that omission by proposing 
that those convicted of Class B crimes have the option of undergoing 
treatment. Moreover, he is proposing treatment options for second-time 
offenders. The governor also proposes to give judges more discretion -- and 
prosecutors less of a say -- in determining who would qualify for treatment.

Critics have their reservations, however, and for good reason. While the 
governor's latest proposal would likely affect some 3,000 defendants a 
year, the data show that some 8,000 are sentenced for drug offenses 
annually. Moreover, judges would have restricted discretion because the 
governor's plan requires defendants to plead guilty and go to prison first 
before becoming eligible for treatment. That would be more costly than 
sending them directly to community-based treatment centers. Worse, the 
governor continues to tie his reforms to other proposals for harsher 
penalties for marijuana crimes, and the abolition of parole for all offenders.

Even so, the governor deserves credit for reopening the debate on drug law 
reform. Now others must join him, including state Senate Majority Leader 
Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, who objected to some provisions in Mr. 
Pataki's original reform proposal as going too far.

At the least, Mr. Pataki has refused to heed the call of the state's 
district attorneys to keep the Rockefeller laws intact, laws they like to 
use as a club to help prosecutors wring plea bargains from those accused of 
drug crimes. But no law should ever be used as a club. It should, instead, 
be used to make the punishment fit the crime. Mr. Pataki's drug law reforms 
are designed to do just that.
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