PATAKI'S FIX FOR DRUG LAW FALLS SHORT

I am a mother and grandmother with two 35-year-old sons, Jeffrey and
William Hilts, who are both in prison under the Rockefeller drug laws.

Jeffrey has served nine years of his 15-to-30-year sentence. This was his
first conviction, for a sale of 2.89 grams (1/10 of an ounce) of cocaine.
William has served 10 years of his 10-to-20-year sentence for a sale of
1.97 grams of cocaine.

I fully agree with Gov. Pataki when he said in his State of the State
speech earlier this month that it is time for dramatic reform of the
Rockefeller drug laws.

But his proposal is seriously flawed because the new sentencing scheme
excludes low-level drug offenders like my sons.

It is because of the Rockefeller drug laws' mandatory minimum sentences
that I am now raising four grandchildren, some of whom were in diapers when
their fathers were locked away for nonviolent drug charges.

It is because of those laws that I have had to summon all my remaining
strength to be an advocate for Jeffrey and William. As a parent, I am sure
the governor understands that this battle is not only for my sons, but for
our entire family. As long as my sons languish in prison, their children
and I are, in effect, locked behind the same walls.

That's why it was a devastating disappointment for us to hear that the
governor's plan for reform overlooks families like mine. The proposal he
released last week will let only a small fraction of New York's drug
prisoners appeal to have their sentences reevaluated under his new guidelines.

Under the governor's proposal, only A-1 offenders --those who received the
harshest sentence of 15 years to life --would be able to petition for
retroactive sentencing. They would be eligible for an automatic reduction
to 10 years to life --or even 8 1/3 years to life if they make a successful
appeal.

Inmates like my sons would not see a reduction in their sentences, even
though they were convicted for lesser offenses.

It is inhumane to continue with mandatory sentencing at any level. But
forgive me for not understanding where the sanity is in excluding my sons
from the sentencing reductions proposed by the governor. How does it make
sense to let my sons serve longer sentences than those required for people
who committed more serious offenses?

When I visit my sons in prison, I see countless young men just like them
who were sentenced under the Rockefeller drug laws.

If the governor wants to help those of us who have lost decades of our
lives because of these laws, I urge him to work with reformers and with
other elected officials to provide broader standards for changing overly
harsh sentences.

We need justice for the many, not just clemency for the few.