HARSH DRUG LAWS WASTE MONEY, LIVES

The Capital District Chapter of the Interfaith Alliance, along with many
religious and civic leaders across the state, supports the repeal of the
Rockefeller Drug Laws. These laws have resulted in the incarceration of
thousands of non-violent addicted individuals who use or sell small
quantities of illegal drugs. Currently some 21,000 offenders, or 30 percent
of the state prison population, are serving time for drug convictions. The
length of prison sentences for minor drug offenses sometimes exceeds those
imposed for more serious crimes such as murder or rape. The waste of human
and financial resources is appalling - it costs the taxpayers of New York
about $710 million per year to warehouse these prisoners. What is worse,
the present system does little or nothing to address the addiction that
underlies most drug offenses.

Numerous studies have shown mandatory drug treatment to be significantly
more effective than long prison sentences in reducing drug-related crimes.
Such treatment is more cost-effective, reduces recidivism, and enhances
public safety by helping to rehabilitate drug offenders and return them to
more productive lives.

To reduce unnecessary and expensive incarceration, enhance public safety
and expand treatment of drug addiction, we endorse the following reforms:

1) That trial judges should be allowed to sentence non-violent addicted
offenders to court-supervised, community-based treatment programs, in lieu
of mandatory prison terms.

2) Most sentences for felony drug sale and possession should be
substantially reduced, making them more consistent with sentences for other
non-violent crimes.

3) Sentencing reform should be retroactive, so inmates serving time under
current laws can petition the courts for review of their sentences.

4) Substance abuse treatment programs should be expanded substantially to
accommodate increased use of these programs as an alternative to incarceration.

Some of the reforms described above were included in Gov. Pataki's proposed
reforms to the Rockefeller Drug Laws. The state Legislature should act
swiftly to implement a comprehensive reform package that will lead to a
more balanced criminal justice system and a more just society.

Eugene A. Rowland ,Schenectady