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news :: article :: Rockefeller Drug Laws Developments courtesy of The New York Times and The Albany Times Union |
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Included are articles from The New York Times and The Albany Times
Union on developments about the Rockefeller Drug Laws: From the New York
Times: March 18, 2004 Morgenthau Backs Debate on Drug Laws Published: March 18, 2004 District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau of Manhattan threw his support
on Wednesday behind an effort to revive the push for changes to New York's
mandatory sentences for drug crimes, a legislative initiative that has
been virtually dormant since last summer. Mr. Morgenthau, in office since
1975, stopped short of advocating specific reforms to the drug laws that
were enacted in the 1970's under Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller. But he said
that in his experience, the laws that impose mandatory prison sentences
for certain drug felonies could, at times, "be unnecessarily harsh.''
He hailed a move on Wednesday by State Senator David A. Paterson, a Manhattan
Democrat, to hold public hearings on proposals to change the laws, including
greater discretion for judges in sentencing. "As the legacy of the
so-called Rockefeller drug laws shows, in the law, the details do matter,''
Mr. Morgenthau said in a written statement, which was handed out by one
of Mr. Paterson's Democratic colleagues. "That is why we need a vigorous
public discussion before enacting any proposed changes in the law."
Mr. Morgenthau's caution is a reflection of the thorny politics that ultimately brought negotiations to change the laws to a halt last July. Mr. Paterson said his office found that New York had the harshest sentencing options for certain low-level drug sellers of any state. For years, all sides in Albany have agreed that the Rockefeller-era laws are too severe. Yet neither Gov. George E. Pataki nor the state's two top legislative leaders, Joseph L. Bruno, the Republican majority leader of the Senate, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, have been able to break the gridlock. One argument against some proposals had been the resistance of the state's district attorneys. From the Albany Times Union: By Elizabeth Benjamin, Capitol bureau ALBANY -- Hoping to reignite the moribund negotiations on Rockefeller
Drug Law reform, state Senate Democrats Wednesday released a plan to return
a measure of sentencing discretion to judges and offer some mid-level
drug offenders probation over prison. The 24 Democrats also said their
survey of district attorneys and legal experts in all 50 states showed
New York has the strictest drug laws in the nation. "What we have done ... is to try to find a way to kick-start
the discussions," said Senate Minority Leader David Paterson, D-Harlem.
"There is absolutely no reason to address this issue incrementally."
Paterson characterized the plan, which is not yet in bill form, as a combination
of past proposals made by the Republican Senate majority, the Democratic
Assembly majority and Gov. George Pataki, also a Republican. The Senate
Democrats propose reduced prison sentences for all levels of drug offenders,
including an end to life sentences for the most serious, Class A, felonies.
Judges could place all but A-level offenders on probation rather than
in prison -- even B-level offenders who have committed a second offense,
if they have no history of violence. The sentences would all be determinate, which means offenders could
not be released early for good behavior. Pataki has proposed this in the
past. In addition, Senate Democrats called for using the savings from
a smaller prison population to support community-based programs to help
convicts re-enter society, similar to the way funds saved by closing state
psychiatric facilities are now used for community-based treatment programs.
Sen. Tom Duane, D-Manhattan, on Wednesday challenged the state's district
attorneys -- who have opposed all attempts at drug law reform except removing
the life sentences for Class A offenders -- to explain why New York needs
the nation's strictest drug laws. Michael Arcuri, Oneida County district
attorney and president of the state District Attorneys Association, said
his group feels New York's drug laws are "working well" and
are in part responsible for the statewide drop in crime. Arcuri had not
seen the Senate Democrats' plan but said the association "would oppose
any removal of discretion from the prosecutors with respect to sentencing."
State leaders appeared to reach a deal on drug law reform last year, particularly after hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons got involved in the negotiations. But the agreement fell apart. Pataki later proposed a limited reform plan that would have ended life sentences for Class-A drug offenders but did not deal with B-level offenders. The GOP-controlled Senate passed Pataki's bill, but the Democrat-dominated Assembly refused. Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, all had no immediate comment on the Senate Democrats' proposal.
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