PATAKI PROPOSES SOFTER DRUG LAWS

Saying he is committed to change, Gov. George Pataki released a new
proposal for softening the state's harsh drug laws Friday.

However, some reform advocates say too many people would not qualify for
treatment programs.

Under the plan, life sentences for drug criminals would be eliminated, more
people would be eligible for treatment programs and judges would have more
leeway to order treatment instead of prison, even if prosecutors disagreed.

Pataki's proposal also would allow those convicted of the most serious drug
crimes to appeal to a judge for a 50 percent reduction in their sentence,
from 15 years to life to as little as seven years and two months in prison.

Advocates say that leaves out most drug offenders in prison.

And Monroe County District Attorney Howard R. Relin objects on other grounds.

"It makes no sense to me at all," Relin said.

"These people were major drug dealers. They were not street users."

Relin said, however, that he generally accepts Pataki's proposal and
supports changes that would encourage drug treatment as an alternative to
incarceration.

The state's existing laws, enacted under Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in 1973,
mandate lengthy prison sentences for possessing even small amounts of
drugs. They have contributed to a fivefold increase in the number of
prisoners to about 65,000 but have done little to curb drug sales, critics say.

"I definitely think the laws need to be reviewed and updated," said Monroe
County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn, who hadn't examined Pataki's proposal.

Rochester City Court Judge Roy King, who oversees the city's Drug Treatment
Court, also said changes are needed. He hadn't reviewed the plan but said,
"At least they are talking about it."

Pataki's plan would:

* Allow more people into drug treatment by expanding the categories of drug
offenders eligible for such referrals. The governor said, however, that no
one with a violent criminal record would be eligible.

* Give more discretion to judges when sentencing nonviolent drug felons.

* Increase sentences for violent and major drug traffickers. People who arm
themselves while selling marijuana or narcotics would be subject to a
five-year mandatory sentence, whether they use the firearm or not, and be
ineligible for diversion to a drug treatment program.

Rochester Police Chief Robert Duffy said he had not reviewed Pataki's
proposal enough to comment specifically. But he said the current
drug-fighting method isn't working.

"Our entire system lacks the level of coordination, the big-picture vision
and focus that we need to make a difference," Duffy said.

The solution must include a comprehensive approach that includes
enforcement, treatment, prevention and education, he said.

He urged lawmakers to become acquainted with the problem before proposing
changes. They should visit treatment centers, ride with police through
drug-plagued areas and view the lives of residents held hostage in their
homes because they're afraid of drug dealers on the streets, he said.

Assembly Democrats greeted Pataki's new plan skeptically; Senate
Republicans were more enthusiastic.

"It appears that the governor is not moving this issue forward," said
Eileen Larrabee, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan.

Pataki's plan "strikes the right balance between treatment programs and
prison alternatives," said Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno,
R-Brunswick, Rensselaer County.

The Democrat-controlled Assembly said its rival bill would give judges more
sentencing discretion than the governor favors and prosecutors less power
to block the diversion of defendants into drug treatment than the governor
would allow.

"The concept of pushing the prosecutor out of that process is bad for
public safety and bad for treatment programs," Pataki's criminal-justice
chief, Chauncey Parker, said.

Pataki has said for two years that he wants to reform the laws. But he has
been unable to reach agreement with Assembly Democrats on specifics.

This year, Pataki renewed the push, meeting with groups on all sides of the
issue and directing his criminal-justice chief to make it a top priority.

"We will not stop in this unprecedented campaign to finally reform the
Rockefeller drug laws until we get the job done," Pataki said Friday.

But some drug-reform groups said Pataki's approach remained the same in
many respects and accused him of using the issue to appeal to minority
voters without being serious about reform.

"The governor wants our votes, particularly Latino votes, but is not
willing to do anything to deserve them, which is insulting," said Terrence
Stevens, a Harlem resident who served eight years of a 15 years-to-life
sentence for selling drugs. It was his first offense, and Pataki granted
him clemency in 2000.

However, Parker said the governor is committed to reform.

"Why would he send me out to spend thousands of hours talking to all these
different groups?" Parker said.

Parker said the remaining points of disagreement are negotiable. "Not one
of these things is a deal-breaker."

They include:

* Whether people with more than one prior nonviolent felony conviction
should be eligible for treatment instead of prison. Advocates say they
should; Pataki's bill doesn't include them.

* Whether to change the threshold weights of drugs that determine what
charge a person faces. Pataki has kept them the same, while Assembly
Democrats want to double them.