DRUG LAW REFORM: NOW

Gov. Pataki's Latest Proposal, While Still Flawed, Provides Momentum

Gov. Pataki's latest proposal for reforming the state's draconian
Rockefeller drug laws holds out hope that some compromise reform might be
within reach this year. It should be. After 27 years on the books, the
Rockefeller statutes have proven to be failures at deterring drug crime.
But they have caused miscarriages of justices and led to an explosion of
the state's prison population.

Mr. Pataki's latest proposal restores momentum to the reform process. The
fact that he was willing to improve on his original proposal is
encouraging. But there is still a long way to go before his latest plan can
approach genuine reform.

Mr. Pataki's original reform proposal provided for some relief for those
convicted of the most serious felonies, classified as A1, that involved
sale or possession of drugs. Under the Rockefeller drug laws, these crimes
carry mandatory sentences of 15 years to life -- a punishment that has been
meted out to first-time, nonviolent offenders. Advocates of reform have
noted, correctly, that these sentences are disproportionately harsh
compared to those imposed for other violent, non-drug crimes.

But A1 cases make up a relatively small number of inmates in a prison
population of 70,000. Many more are sentenced for drug dealing as Class B
felonies, a second tier of serious offenses that can result in sentences of
12.5 to 25 years. Mr. Pataki has now addressed that omission by proposing
that those convicted of Class B crimes have the option of undergoing
treatment. Moreover, he is proposing treatment options for second-time
offenders. The governor also proposes to give judges more discretion -- and
prosecutors less of a say -- in determining who would qualify for treatment.

Critics have their reservations, however, and for good reason. While the
governor's latest proposal would likely affect some 3,000 defendants a
year, the data show that some 8,000 are sentenced for drug offenses
annually. Moreover, judges would have restricted discretion because the
governor's plan requires defendants to plead guilty and go to prison first
before becoming eligible for treatment. That would be more costly than
sending them directly to community-based treatment centers. Worse, the
governor continues to tie his reforms to other proposals for harsher
penalties for marijuana crimes, and the abolition of parole for all offenders.

Even so, the governor deserves credit for reopening the debate on drug law
reform. Now others must join him, including state Senate Majority Leader
Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, who objected to some provisions in Mr.
Pataki's original reform proposal as going too far.

At the least, Mr. Pataki has refused to heed the call of the state's
district attorneys to keep the Rockefeller laws intact, laws they like to
use as a club to help prosecutors wring plea bargains from those accused of
drug crimes. But no law should ever be used as a club. It should, instead,
be used to make the punishment fit the crime. Mr. Pataki's drug law reforms
are designed to do just that.