PROSECUTORS RIP PLAN TO EASE DRUG LAWS

Stiff Terms Necessary, They Say

Charged under the so-called Rockefeller drug laws, career criminal Wilson
Alvarez was facing a minimum of 15 years to life in prison for selling
cocaine on a Queens streetcorner.

Instead of taking his chances with a jury at a trial, Alvarez, 33, decided
to plead guilty. He settled for a stiff sentence of 10 years to life.

To prosecutors, the Alvarez case is just one example of how the Rockefeller
drug laws are an effective tool used to combat repeat drug felons. Alvarez
had a record of 11 arrests for drug sales and had served three different
prison terms since 1991.

But others - from defense attorneys to some in law enforcement - say the
Rockefeller drug laws are flawed because they mandate tough sentences for
all offenders. Judges don't get to differentiate between first-time or
small-time offenders and repeat felons like Alvarez.

They also say the Rockefeller drug laws don't work as a deterrent to drug
use, disproportionately target blacks and Latinos, and provide overly
severe punishment for small offenses.

Gov. Pataki renewed the debate last month when he proposed changing the
drug laws, which are among the toughest in the nation. Pataki said the
reform he proposes would call for a more common sense proposal to address
overly severe provisions of the Rockefeller drug laws.

While many support the governor's view, prosecutors around New York State
are lobbying to keep the laws intact.

"Those who seek reform would have us believe that our prisons are filled
with small-time drug offenders who are locked up for 15 years or more,"
said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. "Most drug offenders are in
prison today not because they possessed a small amount of drugs and have
been swept up by the Rockefeller drug laws, but because they repeatedly
sold drugs intended for distribution to local communities, or because they
have prior convictions for violent felonies."

Many defendants found guilty under the Rockefeller drug laws were arrested
for selling 2 ounces or possessing 4 ounces of cocaine or heroin.

Prosecutors argue that 4 ounces of high-quality cocaine can be divided into
8,500 glassine envelopes that can sell for $10 each.

One of the most controversial parts of the proposed reforms would be to
reduce the statutory minimum sentence for first-time offenders convicted of
Class A-1 drug felonies, the most serious sale and possession offenses,
from 15 years to life to 10 years to life.

A Queens Supreme Court justice, who asked that his name not be used, said
the stiff mandatory minimums of the 28-year-old Rockefeller drug laws
"didn't work then, and they don't work now."

"We tried to be draconian and hard-nosed, and it's not leading any place,"
he said. "We are putting people away, and they don't come out with any skills."

Currently, 21,000 offenders - about 30% of the state prison population -
are serving time for drug convictions.

Of those 21,000 drug offenders, just over 600 are serving time for Class
A-1 felony offenses, which is less than 1% of the total inmate population,
according to the governnor's office.

African-Americans are jailed at much higher rates than whites, even though
five times as many whites use drugs, according to a New York-based group
called Human Rights Watch.

Their report said that 62% of drug offenders sent to state prison are black.

"If someone says because of the drug policy we have less crime, then they
are not telling the truth. . . . ," the Queens judge said.

And Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said, "We don't want to sentence
any one to a day more than they deserve, but at the same time, we want to
protect the community. We can do that by putting the appropriate people in
jail." He said tough sentences are needed to deal with violent drug gangs,
not low-level offenders.

Brown, though, cautioned against minimizing the impact of small drug deals
on society.

"Drug dealing is big business, and drug dealers use violence to protect
their turf, intimidate witnesses, rob one another and punish those who
threaten their livelihood," Brown said.

Defense attorneys Russell Morea and Jonathan Latimer support changes to the
Rockefeller laws. They said the mandatory minimum sentences outlined in the
laws handcuff judges from dispensing justice on a case-by-case basis.

"I'm against all mandatory minimums," said Latimer. "I think the
Rockefeller drug laws are harsh."

Morea remembered a day in court when he watched a defendant get 20 years to
life for torching a building and killing a person, while his client, who
was waiting to be sentenced, got 15 years to life for a drug sale.

"It just wasn't right," he said.

Democratic Councilwoman Juanita Watkins of southeast Queens, who recently
heard Brown speak about the Rockefeller drug laws at a meeting of elected
officials, said that the tough sentences are necessary.

"We need to think in terms of what if the drug dealer wasn't caught and all
that cocaine was on the streets," she said. "Drugs plus guns makes violence."

'Drug dealing is big business, and drug dealers use violence to protect
their turf.'