MOST TIER OFFICIALS AGREE WITH EASING OF '70S DRUG LAWS

Libous Pleased That Nonviolent Offenders Can Get Treatment Sooner

Local consensus seemed to be that Tuesday's changes to the
Rockefeller-era drug laws are a step in the right direction, although
reactions seemed to depend heavily on where someone sits in the courtroom.

Broome County District Attorney Gerald F. Mollen said he sees no
problem with reducing sentencing provisions for drug charges, although
he was unfamiliar with the deal Tuesday.

"The agreement that the numbers on A-1 felonies should be modified has
been supported by the state DA's Association for years," Mollen said.
"The core concept of changing the sentencing provisions is long overdue."

Mollen said the deal appeared to be a good compromise. He was glad to
see that under the agreement, the role of the district attorney
doesn't appear to be weakened when determining which drug offenders
should receive treatment.

"It's a good thing for us that they've left substantial authority with
prosecutors regarding who should be given treatment," he said. Broome
County Public Defender Jay Wilber said the deal appeared to be a
positive move, but seemed unimpressed by what was accomplished.

"They certainly did not have to wait all this time if this was all
they came up with," Wilber said.

Wilber, an adviser with Binghamton's drug court, which allows Broome
County residents to enroll in a treatment program in exchange for
lighter sentences, said he would have liked to see more sentencing
discretion given to judges. Wilber said he hoped that Tuesday's
agreement was a starting point in reforming drug laws.

State Sen. Thomas W. Libous called the reform a long struggle. He
hailed the move as a major step toward improving laws considered to be
some of the harshest in the nation.

"It's been 30 years and a lot of portions of the law don't reflect
society today," he said. "With this, we are still tough on those we
need to be tough on."

Libous said he was particularly pleased that low-level, nonviolent
offenders would be eligible for treatment sooner under the agreement.

"Treatment is effective and it does work," Libous said. "In certain
cases we did recognize that people made mistakes and received possibly
unfair sentences."