LOCALS LOBBY AGAINST ARCHAIC DRUG LAWS

FREEVILLE - Kimberly L. LaSelva, who lives with her two young sons
and other relatives in Freeville, said she pleaded guilty to drug
possession charges in July of 2000 because she didn't want to raise
her kids from behind bars.

LaSelva, 24, who cared for her 23-month-old son, Devon Greene-LaSelva,
in Tompkins County jail when he was just a few months old, said she
was scared and out of options.

She said because of her boyfriend's criminal record and unstable
behavior before her arrest, she suspected he had gone back to dealing
drugs.

LaSelva said until then, she had no idea he brought what he did out in
the streets into their home.

But after being charged with an A-1 felony for drug possession, and
learning that if convicted she would be sentenced to 15-years-to-life,
she said reality set in.

She understood it didn't matter that the drugs and electronic scales
found in her Lincoln Street apartment weren't hers but belonged to her
children's father, she said.

"It was just the fact that they were in my house," LaSelva
said.

LaSelva is one of about 70 local residents who are heading to Albany
today with the Tompkins County Interfaith Campaign to Reform/Repeal
the Rockefeller-era drug laws, in what has become an annual day of
protest against the mandatory-minimum drug sentencing laws.

Pete Meyers, of Catholic Charities and an organizer of the local
campaign, said twice as many people have signed up to attend the "Drop
the Rock" day of protest as compared to last year.

Meyers said activists will meet with state senators James Seward,
R-50th District, and John R. "Randy" Kuhl, R-52nd District, to lobby
them to support their efforts.

Assemblyman Marty Luster, D-125th District, has been an outspoken
critic of New York state drug laws and has introduced legislation to
reform drug laws.

Meyers said what happened to LaSelva occurs far too often. In the vast
majority of cases, defendants accept culpability under the harsh laws
rather than go to trial, he said.

"It's taking a real risk for someone to do that," Meyers said. "One of
the reasons why we want the laws repealed is because a person is
scared to take it to trial even when they're innocent."

What organizers want, he said, was for judges' to have wider
discretion in sentencing non-violent drug offenders and for drug
addicts to receive treatment, not harsh state prison terms.

In an earlier interview with The Ithaca Journal, District Attorney
George M. Dentes said activists mischaracterize those serving long
terms under the state drug laws when in reality they are repeat
offenders who needed to be locked-up. He said the relationship between
drug trafficking and violent crime was undeniable.

"There is a close nexus between drug crime and violent crime," Dentes
said. "If you can put drug sellers in prison, you can reduce violent
crime. There's no doubt about it."

LaSelva, who said she got involved to help women like herself and
other non-violent drug offenders, said she owes a lot to her mother
who took custody of her two boys until she was released.

"I was very fortunate," LaSelva said. "If I didn't have my family here
I possibly would not have my boys today."

LaSelva said that if she had not taken the plea-bargain agreement of
3-years to life in state prison, and did not have a supportive family,
her children may have been raised through foster care.