Pubdate: Thu, 30 Jun 2005
Source: Times Union (Albany, NY)
Section: Pg A8
Copyright: 2005 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation
Contact:  http://www.timesunion.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/452
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws)

SMALL STEP ON REFORM

The Legislature Makes Another Effort To Ease The Rockefeller Drug Laws

With the rush by state lawmakers to leave Albany last week, there was 
a real danger that Rockefeller Drug Law reform would get lost in the 
shuffle. There is a long and depressing tradition in the Legislature 
for lawmakers to forget about an issue the following year if they 
have addressed it the year before. And last year, the lawmakers were 
congratulating themselves on passing the first major reforms since 
the draconian drug laws were adopted in 1973.

But as welcome as those reforms were, they were only the first step, 
and the lawmakers knew it. The reforms eliminated life sentences for 
the highest level drug crimes, known as Class A1 and A2, and allowed 
A1 offenders to retroactively appeal for resentencing. The effect was 
that several hundred A1 offenders were able to walk free. But A2 
offenders were not given a chance to appeal and faced the grim 
prospect of having to serve many more years behind bars.

Last week, however, the Republican-led Senate and Democrat-led 
Assembly reached a last-minute agreement to give nonviolent A2 
offenders a chance to appeal for resentencing. Before they can do so, 
however, they must be within 36 months of their first opportunity for 
parole. Some 500 inmates currently meet these criteria, according to 
the state Department of Correctional Services.

Regrettably, Gov. Pataki does not seem to share the same enthusiasm 
as the Legislature, saying he has "some concerns" about the 
agreement. But Mr. Pataki knows better. He has made it a practice of 
extending holiday clemencies to prisoners who were facing long 
sentences under the inflexible Rockefeller statutes. In more than a 
few cases, the inmates were first-time nonviolent offenders. How, 
then, can Mr. Pataki see the need for clemency in these cases but be 
troubled by a reform that would address similar cases on a broader scale?

Just as regrettable was the reaction of Sen. Thomas Duane, 
D-Manhattan, a staunch supporter of reform but who voted against the 
A2 accord last week. The agreement, he said at the time, was "so 
minimal, so timid compared to what we should be doing in this 
Legislature to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws." He's right about 
what should be done -- sweeping reform that would restore sentencing 
discretion to judges -- but wrong not to support a small step in that 
direction.

Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, D-Queens, no less a supporter of reform, 
has it right when he says, "Everything with Rockefeller Drug Law 
reform is hard." Which is why this year's accord, minor though it 
was, deserves applause.
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MAP posted-by: Beth