Mr. Dilulio 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 attomey, 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.