Reforms Temper New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws April 26, 2004
News Summary
Over the years, reformers have reduced some of the strict requirements set under New York's Rockefeller drug laws, which were established in the 1970s. However, New York leaders contend that the sentencing guidelines under the outdated laws remain fundamentally flawed, the New York Times reported April 15."We have enacted some reforms over the course of the years and we have lessened the harshness of the pre-existing Rockefeller drug laws," said Gov. George Pataki. "But having said that, I still believe there is room for significant additional reform."
Pataki, along with Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, argues that the basic sentencing guidelines under the state's drug laws are flawed and unjustifiably harsh and rigid.
Originally, the tough laws were established to curb the drug epidemic of the 1970s. Under the laws, a minimum sentence of 15 years to life in prison was mandatory for class A-1 felonies, which included the sale of one ounce of narcotics or the possession of two ounces. Minor drug crimes also qualified for tough sanctions.
Over the years, the laws have been revised to reduce sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders. In addition, prosecutors have developed programs that divert addicted individuals into treatment programs rather than prison.
"We are more circumspect in how we exercise our discretion. And we have more options," said Bridget Brennan, New York City's special narcotics prosecutor.
But although some reform has taken place, New York's top leaders disagree about how to ease sentences, how those in prison would be affected, and the range of discretion to give to judges in determining when a drug offender should be placed in treatment instead of sentenced to the mandatory-minimum prison terms.
"In effect, they acknowledge that the laws are excessive. What they are doing is tinkering around the edges of a problem," said Robert Gangi, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, a group that monitors the state's prisons. "What they are avoiding is addressing the heart of the problem."
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