Pubdate: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 Source: New York Daily News (NY) Copyright: 2001 Daily News, L.P. Contact: 450 W. 33rd St., New York, N.Y. 10001 Website: http://www.nydailynews.com/ Forum: http://www.nydailynews.com/manual/news/e_the_people/e_the_people.htm Author: Celeste Katz, Daily News Albany Bureau with Joe Mahoney Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws) DRUG LAW FOES MARCH ON CAPITOL ALBANY - Armed with banners and an unflattering sculpture of Gov. Pataki's head, more than 1,000 foes of the Rockefeller Drug Laws flooded the state Capitol yesterday to call for their repeal. Pataki and the state Assembly have crafted dueling plans on softening what critics call New York's draconian code for punishing drug offenders. "We have never been closer," said Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D-Queens), a proponent of cutting sentences and boosting drug treatment. "Thirty years of imprisonment and pain is about to end." The protesters argued the laws are particularly harsh on minorities and youth and pull families apart. "You'd rather put our kids in jail than to educate them," said Elaine Bartlett, who spent 16 years in prison. "Now that's sad." Meanwhile, Pataki appears to be maneuvering in a way that could produce a compromise. With separate bills, the governor has urged ending parole for all convicted felons and giving prosecutors the right to appeal lenient bail decisions. While those proposals have virtually no chance of clearing the Democrat-led Assembly, some observers believe Pataki is advancing them in order to neutralize his conservative base of supporters who favor tough drug laws. At the rally, demonstrators argued the Assembly's drug law reform ideas are more sweeping and would make more felons eligible for treatment. Inmate advocate Robert Gangi favored the Assembly proposal over Pataki's, saying the former provides more money for treatment and allows greater discretion by sentencing judges. Pataki, who did not cross paths with the demonstrators, told reporters that a "common ground" compromise could be achieved. "I hope this is the year we can in fact adopt significant reform of the Rockefeller drug laws," he said. "It's been something that has been talked about for 20 years." Both plans reduce the sentences for many offenses. The Assembly plan maintains indeterminate sentencing, which gives a parole board jurisdiction after a person has served the minimum required prison time. Overall, the governor's plan relies more heavily on determinate sentencing, which means that offenders must serve out more of their sentences. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake