DRUG LAWS EASING CONCERNS DAS

Albany, NY-- A statewide prosecutors' group told the governor and
legislative leaders it would be dangerous to dismantle New York's
Rockefeller drug laws.

A letter from the head of the state District Attorneys Association cited
"grave concerns" among prosecutors over potential changes in drug offender
sentencing guidelines. Association president Robert Carney, district
attorney for Schenectady County, urged state leaders not to dilute laws
that have helped prosecutors imprison drug dealers and reduce crime rates.

"It is misguided and dangerous public policy, not compassion, to dismantle
New York's drug laws," Carney wrote.

The letter released Thursday did not oppose all drug law reforms, but it
hints at the sort of opposition Gov. George Pataki and legislative leaders
face if they attempt wide ranging changes this year.

Pataki last month proposed a 10 point program for easing the most stringent
of the mandatory drug laws first enacted during the tenure of Gov. Nelson
Rockefeller. Under the governor's proposal, sentences for the most serious
categories of offenses would be cut nearly in half; low-level drug
offenders with no violence on their records could avoid prison by
completing residential drug treatment programs.