Pubdate: Tue, 4 May 1999
Source: Times Union (NY)
Copyright: 1999, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation
Contact:  Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212
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Author: John Caher, State Editor

PATAKI UNVEILS A VISION OF JUSTICE

Albany -- The governor releases a far-reaching package that calls for
fundamental changes in sentencing statutes

Gov. George Pataki on Monday unveiled an ambitious criminal justice package
that would increase terms for narcotics kingpins, decrease sentences for
some drug "mules'' and result in the most fundamental changes in New York
sentencing statutes in a generation.

Combining a modest easing of the harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws with generally
tougher sentencing mandates and the elimination of parole, Pataki's proposal
is the opening bid in what could be the most far-reaching issue of the
legislative session: criminal justice "reform.''

The Republican governor's proposal was embraced immediately by the
GOP-controlled Senate but could face difficulty in the Democratic Assembly.
However, some Democratic leaders suggest the Assembly might be willing to
enact Pataki's proposals if the governor and the Senate go along with a
proposal to ban assault weapons and mandate childproof trigger locks on
guns.

Pataki said Monday he could support an assault weapon ban and trigger lock
requirements, but those matters face an uphill battle in the Senate.

The legislative package unveiled Monday is a mixed bag for prosecutors and
defense advocates, but one that is heavily weighted toward district
attorneys.

Pataki would revise the 26-year-old Rockefeller Drug Laws to allow appellate
courts to reduce from 15 to 10 years the sentence imposed on nonviolent
felons convicted of possessing, but not selling, narcotics. He also would
expand drug treatment alternatives and allow judges, with the consent of a
prosecutor, to divert some drug addicts to substance abuse programs instead
of prison.

But Pataki is demanding a slew of tough-on-crime measures in return. He
wants to increase minimum terms for drug kingpins from 1 to 3 years to 15
years to life. He would give prosecutors the right to appeal low bail and
light jail sentences. And most significantly, Pataki would eliminate parole
in all felony cases -- a goal of the governor's since he took office in 1995
and an extension of measures passed the last two years that eliminated
parole for violent and repeat felons.

Pataki is calling for an end to what is called "indeterminate'' sentencing,
a decades-old system in which New York judges impose a sentence of, say, 5
to 15 years and a parole board decides when in that time span the prisoner
is released.

The governor would replace that system with one in which judges impose a
specific sentence within a range specified under law.

For instance, for a first-time nonviolent offender, a judge could choose a
specific sentence anywhere in the range of 14 months to 17 years. After
completing the entire term, minus time off for good behavior, a prisoner
convicted of a nonviolent crime would be subjected to an
18-month-to-three-year period of post-release supervision.

Pataki's sentencing proposal is roughly similar to federal guidelines.
However, Pataki would afford judges far more discretion to tailor a sentence
appropriate to the offense and offender, according to Katherine N. Lapp,
director of criminal justice.

The plan garnered mixed reviews on Monday -- with predictable applause from
prosecutors and jeers from defense advocates.

Jonathan Gradess of the New York State Defenders Association noted that the
federal judiciary is in an uproar over sentencing mandates and questioned
whether the state should be following that path.

Robert Gangi of the New York State Correctional Association, a group
lobbying to repeal the Rockefeller Laws, said Pataki's proposal doesn't go
nearly far enough and criticized the governor for trying to trade revision
of the drug statutes for tougher sentences.

However, Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said the plan
seems balanced. In particular, Carney praised its drug-treatment aspect.

Politically, Pataki's package was applauded immediately by legislative
Republican leaders in both houses and was received less warmly by Democrats.

"People who break the law ought to be punished,'' said Senate Majority
Leader Joseph Bruno. "Common sense tells me if a criminal is in jail, they
can't be on the streets committing another crime.''

In the Democratic Assembly, the leadership is willing to take a look at the
governor's proposals, according to Patricia Lynch, spokeswoman for Speaker
Sheldon Silver. However, Lynch said the Assembly's main criminal justice
goal this year is school safety.

"The Assembly's top priority in the criminal justice arena this year is
enactment of a school safety law that includes a ban on assault weapons and
the child-protective trigger locks,'' Lynch said. "When the governor sends
us his sentencing reform legislation, we'll give it a very serious look.''

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