BUDGET INCLUDES EARLY RELEASE FOR 1,300 INMATES

Sentences Eased For Prisoners Held Under The State's Tough Drug Laws, Other
Nonviolent Crimes

ALBANY -- As part of the budget, the state Legislature approved a plan to
let about 1,300 nonviolent inmates out of prison early, senators and
Assembly members said Friday.

The early-release plan would allow someone imprisoned under the state's
strictest drug laws to get out after 10 years, shaving one-third of a
15-year-to-life sentence. It would end parole after two years instead of
the current three.

It would also allow more inmates to qualify for "merit-time" release.
Currently, that program is limited to nonviolent offenders with sentences
of six years or less; the new law would expand it to eight years or less.
Gov. George Pataki has estimated it could save the state prison system
$19.6 million this year.

Although Pataki and the two houses have been fighting a bruising battle
over the Legislature's override of his budget vetoes, this has been one
area of agreement. Still, the plan could get tangled if Pataki sues over
the vetoes. That said, supporters said they'd be surprised if the plan
didn't begin this year.

"He has it as part of his savings on corrections, so it's my assumption
(the administration) will go ahead with it," said Assemblyman Jeffrion
Aubry, D-Queens, chairman of the Assembly Corrections Committee.

It shouldn't take long to launch the program because it consists mainly of
record reviews, he added.

About 800 of the projected parolees are doing time for drug offenses, 500
for nonviolent property crimes, said Pataki spokeswoman Lynn Rasic. The
state Parole Board would have to OK early release for inmates convicted of
the most serious drug felonies, known as A-1. The commissioner of
corrections could carry out early releases for all others.

"This is a way to drive down recidivism rates because it encourages good
behavior and encourages participation in (prison) programs," Rasic said.

Pataki floated the idea in January. Legislators noted this was noticeable
shift for the Republican governor, who has long championed stiffer prison
sentences. The change is attributable partly a growing push to change New
York's drug-sentencing laws - and partly to the state's $12 billion budget
gap, Sen. Dale Volker, R-Depew, Erie County, has said.

The governor's plan estimates the prison rolls would drop from the current
66,300 to about 65,100 by March 31. The prison population peaked at more
than 71,000 in 1999.