The Prison Explosion, Part 1e

REVISE NEW YORK'S DRUG LAWS NOW

Afraid of appearing soft on crime, New York lawmakers have willfully
ignored the glut of problems created by the state's drug laws, the
strictest in the nation.

It's past time they did something about it. Their inaction has caused
thousands of human lives to waste away in jail. It has meant millions of
taxpayer dollars are being spent every year to feed the insatiable appetite
of a growing prison industry. It has led to mandatory prison time for
thousands of people who would be better off in treatment programs. And it
has kept thousands of parents, including a growing number of women, locked
up while their children face the challenges of the world without them.

The state must reverse these trends, putting fairness back into the law
while helping those currently hooked on drugs to get off them for good.

It's true the drug laws -- named for then-Gov. Nelson D. Rockefeller and
enacted during the early 1970s -- have had some benefits over the years and
still have some supporters as well. After all, there must be some
ramifications for those who use or deal drugs, especially to children.

At some point, it falls on our lawmakers to look at the overall impact of
any set of sweeping measures to determine how effective they've been over
the long haul. And the Rockefeller drug laws, the toughest in the country,
have failed the state in more ways than it has helped.

The statistics in the Journal's stories appearing today, Thursday and
Friday are revealing, indeed. The rate of prison sentences for drug
offenses has increased a staggering nine times in the last 20 years and the
number of prisons in New York has more than doubled. Prisons are now a $2.2
billion taxpayer-funded industry in New York, and the building boom continues.

Some judges, and even lawkmakers who voted for the legislation decades ago,
agree they are too rigid and harsh. ''I think it is the most unjust law
enacted in my time,'' said retired New York City Supreme Court Judge Jerome
Marks.

What's most vexing is how the system has tied the hands of judges. No
longer do reason and common sense prevail. For instance, does it make any
sense for mandatory prison sentences of 15 years to life be given to those
convicted of a single sale of two ounces of cocaine when that same
sentence, or less, is handed out in cases involving murder, manslaughter or
rape? And thousands of low-level drug offenders get prison time because of
the mandatory minimum sentencing requirements. Compare them to all the
slap-on-the-wrist sentences we see in white-collar crime cases, including
political corruption scandals like the recent one in Poughkeepsie.

State Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman believes 10,000
nonviolent felons could be diverted from jails and prisons to treatment
yearly. That's a better long-term solution, for the sake of basic fairness
and the cost to the taxpayers.

There are ways for the state to get there. State leaders ought to muster
the political will to:

Make longer, more intensive treatment programs available -- It's important
to note that a vast majority of prison-sentenced drug offenders, 80 percent
last year, have had no violent felony convictions. Providing addicts with
treatment in low-security facilities would be a far better alternative than
traditional prison time. Drug treatment can cost less than $15,000 a year,
incarceration double that, and projections are when you add prison time,
court and legal costs, it can cost taxpayers $1 million for each inmate
serving a 20-year sentence or more.

Give judges far more discretion -- Judges are hamstrung in many cases.
Mandatory sentencing forces them, for instance, to give prison time for any
second felony conviction. In the past, state Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry,
D-Queens, and state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, D-Brooklyn, have
sponsored legislation to repeal the mandatory provisions of the drug laws
and allow more judicial discretion at sentencing. In addition, a commission
set up by state Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye recommends the state's appellate
courts be able to reduce 15-year sentences that are deemed not ''in the
interest of justice.'' Such measures, all of which have languished in
Albany, should be approved by our lawmakers.

Expand drug courts to deal with cases fairly, yet efficiently -- There are
15 such courts, mostly in cities including Rochester, Ithaca and Niagara
Falls/Tonawanda. Poughkeepsie is not one of them, though it is expected to
get one soon. Studies show drug courts drive down crime recidivism rates
nearly 70 percent, according to Judge Kaye. The drug courts focus on
mandated treatment along with frequent court appearances to ensure an
offender is cooperating. ''Drug courts are a good investment -- and you can
measure their dividends in dollars and human lives,'' Kaye said recently.

It's true Gov. George Pataki isn't entirely unsympathetic to the need to
amend some of the drug laws. He concedes that treatment programs are a
better alternative to incarceration in some cases. But the governor and
other state leaders have failed to make this a priority. They ought to
agree on substantial changes that put an emphasis on drug prevention and
treatment. And mandatory sentences should be junked, with more power
restored to the judges at the local level. It's perfectly clear that
building more prisons and locking up a disproportionate number of
minorities have failed the state. State leaders should amend these archaic
laws and be open to new ways of thinking in the fight against drugs.

What you can do

Here's how to tell New York state legislators from the mid-Hudson region
what you think about the Rockefeller drug laws:

State Senate

- Stephen Saland, 41st District, Poughkeepsie, (845) 463-0840; e-mail:
saland@senate.state.ny.us.

- John Bonacic, 101st District, New Paltz, (845) 255-9656; e-mail:
bonacic@senate.state.ny.us.

- William Larkin Jr., 39th District, New Windsor, (845) 567-1270; e-mail:
larkin@senate.state.ny.us.

- Vincent Leibell, 37th District, Patterson, (845) 279-3773; e-mail:
leibell@senate.state.ny.us.

State Assembly

- Joel Miller, 97th District, Poughkeepsie, (845) 463-1635; e-mail:
millerj@assembly.state.ny.us.

- Patrick Manning, 99th District, East Fishkill, (845) 221-3400;e-mail:
manninp@assembly.state.ny.us.

- Kevin Cahill, 101st District, Kingston, (845) 338-9610; e-mail:
cahillk@assembly.state.ny.us.

- Thomas Kirwan, 96th District, Newburgh, (845) 562-0888; no e-mail address.

- Willis Stephens Jr., 91st District, Southeast, (845) 225-5038; e-mail:
stephew@assembly.state.ny.us.

- Gov. George E. Pataki, Executive Chamber, State Capitol, Albany, N.Y.
12224; (518) 474-8390; gov.pataki @chamber.state.ny.us.