Pubdate: Thu, 12 August 1999
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company
Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
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Author: John R. Dunne

PAYING FOR FAILED DRUG LAWS

Last month the nation's drug policy director, retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey,
criticized New York State's harsh and inflexible drug laws, asserting that
building more prisons will not solve the problem of drug-driven crime and
that New York needs more drug treatment programs rather than more prison
beds. He's right.

In 1973, as a member of the New York State Senate, I supported enactment of
the Rockefeller Drug Laws, intended to reduce illegal drug use and force
dealers off the street. The hard experience of the last quarter-century
shows that those measures have failed to achieve their goals. Instead, these
and similar laws across the nation have handcuffed our judges, filled our
prisons to dangerously crowded conditions and denied sufficient drug
treatment alternatives to nonviolent addicted offenders who need help and
who pose no danger to public safety. Government leaders must agree now to
meaningful reforms.

Largely fueled by the Rockefeller Drug Laws, which require substantial
prison sentences for many offenders who are not dangerous to public safety,
New York's prison population has exploded from 12,500 in 1973 to more than
70,000 today. Prisons across the nation are bulging with more than 13
million inmates -- and the biggest contributor to the rise in prison
populations is nonviolent drug offenders. Almost one-quarter of all state
prisoners are locked up for nonviolent drug offenses, an increase of nearly
400 percent in just two decades, despite the fact that drug trafficking and
usage have remained relatively constant.

New York has a higher percentage of drug offenders doing time than the
national average because the Rockefeller Drug Laws require some of the
nation's longest prison sentences. For example, a judge must impose a prison
term of no fewer than 15 years to life for anyone convicted of selling two
ounces or possessing four ounces of a narcotic substance. These Draconian
penalties apply without regard to the circumstances of the offense or the
individual's character or background. Whether the person is a first-time or
repeat offender is irrelevant. Yet these offenders face the same penalties
as murderers, arsonists and kidnappers, while rape, sexual child abuse and
armed robbery carry lesser sanctions.

Too often, our drug laws result in the long-term imprisonment of minor
dealers or persons only marginally involved in the drug trade. They do not
generally deter drug addicts; to them, the threat of imprisonment is
irrelevant, as drugs are an integral part of their lives. Many are sick and
need help and would welcome the opportunity to participate in a drug
treatment program. Similarly, the laws have little deterrent effect on drug
kingpins, because the profits are great and the risk of apprehension slight.

Compounding the failure of the drug laws is their uneven enforcement, which
has been disproportionately harsh on communities of color. In New York 94
percent of those in prison for drug offenses are African American or Latino.
This despite studies that show that whites make up the majority of those who
consume drugs. Further, while about 70 percent of the women now being sent
to prison are committed for drug crimes, a large percentage, including some
95 percent of those charged as drug couriers, have no previous history of
criminal involvement.

Despite the failure of our drug laws, the prison building and operating
costs required by them have been staggering: about $2 billion for
construction and more than $700 million annually for confinement. New York's
prison budget alone, not including police, prosecution, defense and court
costs, has grown to close to $2 billion a year.

Flexibility and sentencing discretion must be restored to judges to enable
them to tailor appropriate prison or alternative sentences based on the
nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and character of the
offender. The most suitable sanction for most nonviolent drug offenders --
and one that is less costly and generally more effective than
imprisonment -- is mandatory drug treatment, residential or outpatient. More
treatment and graduated penalties should follow when relapses occur.
Intensively supervised probation that includes such features as day
reporting, community service and job training is appropriate for addicts as
well as low-level sellers.

Numerous studies, including those sponsored by the National Institute on
Drug Abuse, have shown that drug treatment programs are successful in
reducing drug abuse and crime. A recent study by the Rand Corp. found that
drug treatment reduces violent crime far more than does imprisonment.

As Barry McCaffrey has repeatedly counseled, our nation can no longer afford
to build prisons for thousands of people for whom imprisonment is
unnecessary. And justice demands sentencing laws that are fair to drug
offenders and that will, at the same time, improve public safety.

The writer, a former assistant attorney general for civil rights under
President Bush, was the chair of the New York State Senate Prison Committee
when the Rockefeller Drug Laws were enacted.

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