Pubdate: Fri, 10 May 2002
Source: New York Times (NY)
Section: Opinion
Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company
Contact:  http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Michael J. Gorman
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n884/a12.html

DRUG LAW REFORM: A NEW VOCABULARY

To the Editor:

When politicians talk about the victims of New York's draconian Rockefeller 
drug laws - people like 73-year-old Martha Weatherspoon, who is serving a 
20-year sentence (Our Towns column, May 8) - they are careful to mention 
the difficulty in changing these laws.

I think that Albany lawmakers are reluctant to change these laws because 
they see no widespread public demand for reform. While the laws are often 
criticized as being unfair, harsh and counterproductive, such words rarely 
motivate lawmakers to action, especially when support for fairer, more 
reasonable sentences would make them vulnerable to criticism for being 
"soft on crime."

But if elected officials were made to see these drug laws as "evil" (in 
their effect) rather than merely "harsh," and as having a racially 
discriminatory effect, they might be motivated to consider serious reform. 
No elected official wants to be seen as a proponent of evil.

MICHAEL J. GORMAN

Whitestone, Queens, May 8, 2002

The writer is a lawyer and a lieutenant in the New York City Police Department.
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