Pubdate: Thu, 30 May 2002 Source: Poughkeepsie Journal (NY) Copyright: 2002 Poughkeepsie Journal Contact: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1224 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws) REFORM DRUG LAWS THIS YEAR Now here's a powerful combination for you: An election year, the need to save money, and the desire to do something voters can support. It all could lead to welcome changes in the state's onerous drug laws. Gov. George Pataki and legislative leaders have vowed to amend these laws for years, but this year they might actually get around to doing it. They should. The governor's staff has been pushing this matter in recent weeks, focusing on a new plan that would give judges more leeway in sentencing and more power to order drug treatment for offenders. Both changes are necessary. Predictably, reform advocates say the proposal doesn't go far enough, but at least the governor seems willing to expend more political capital to get some reforms through this time. Specifically, Pataki wants to reduce some mandatory sentences outright. Under the Rockefeller drug laws enacted during the early 1970s, possessing four ounces of cocaine can get someone the same penalty given to murderers -- 15 years to life in prison. That penalty is excessive, yet judges are not even allowed to take into account compelling circumstances, such as whether a person is a first-time or repeat offender. Give Judges More Options Pataki wants to arm judges with the authority to overrule district attorneys who deny certain nonviolent drug offenders from going into treatment programs rather than prison. There is a huge financial incentive to do this. Drug treatment can cost less than $15,000 a year; incarceration twice that. But never mind the financial toll; the lives of thousands of nonviolent criminals shouldn't be wasting away in New York prisons. The governor's proposal appropriately does not go soft on potentially violent crimes, however. It would actually boost penalties when a gun is involved in drug transactions. Pataki's ideas aren't all perfect. Sentences still will be based on the weight of the drugs sold or in someone's possession when apprehended, not on the actual role that person played in a drug transaction. That can lead to unfair sentences -- small-time drug carriers working on street corners getting years in prison, while drug kingpins, with enough savvy and resources to have others do their dirty work for them, go free. The governor and legislative leaders need to reach consensus on these reforms -- and they should do so publicly. Even people within the judicial system -- including more than a dozen New York judges -- have spoken out against the Rockefeller drug laws at one time or another. State Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman estimates 10,000 nonviolent felons in New York could be diverted from jails and prisons to treatment yearly. Another year should not pass without serious reforms that reduce the prison population and get more people the treatment they need. Relevant Web Link For the Journal's special report on the Rockefeller drug laws log on to www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/projects/prison - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom