TOO MANY NONVIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS IN PRISON

* Mr. DiIulio correctly states that current laws put too many
nonviolent drug offenders in prison, but overlooks the efforts
prosecutors and judges have made to correct the problem. As Brooklyn
district attorney, I use the stiff penalties of the Rockefeller drug
laws to imprison those dealers who profit from the suffering of
hard-core addicts and their families.

But since prison is not the solution for nonviolent users who commit
crimes to support their habits, I established the Drug Treatment
Alternative to Prison (DTAP) program. DTAP gives nonviolent
second-felony offenders the option of entering a residential treatment
program instead of serving a comparable prison sentence. Successful
completion of the program results in the charges being dropped;
failure results in a prison sentence.

Results have been noteworthy: nearly 60% of the more than 1,000
offenders accepted into the program have graduated or remained in
treatment. DTAP graduates have saved more than $13 million in
correction costs, health-care, public assistance and recidivism costs,
combined with the tax revenues they generate.

The Rockefeller drug laws should be changed to permit judges, with the
consent of the prosecutor, to place in residential rehabilitation
programs those drug abusers found to be addicts by an independent
professional, who have sold drugs primarily to support a habit and who
have not been previously convicted of any violent crimes.

Charles J. Hynes
District Attorney
Brooklyn, N.Y.