PATAKI REJECTS OVERHAUL OF HARSH DRUG PENALTIES

Gov. Pataki wants only modest changes in the state's harsh Rockefeller Drug
Laws, a newspaper reports.

Instead of the drastic overhaul urged by an increasing number of bipartisan
critics, administration officials say Pataki favors smaller changes, such
as amending the laws to give appeals judges discretion to reduce sentences
for people convicted of low-level drug offenses, the New York Times
reported Sunday.

The governor sees no reason for a major overhaul because several
early-release programs he has adopted are working, Katherine N. Lapp,
Pataki's top criminal-justice adviser, told the paper.