CRITICS SAY DRUG LAW REFORM FALLS SHORT

Albany-- Correctional Association wants trial judges, not appellate jurists,
to have the discretion to lighten terms

A prison reform organization today will take on the chief judge, claiming
that her proposal to reform the Rockefeller-era drug laws is a Band-Aid,
"political'' solution to a far-reaching problem.

In a State of the Judiciary message on Monday, Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye
recommended giving an appellate court the authority to cut by up to
two-thirds sentences now mandated for high-level drug felonies.

Kaye also proposed allowing judges, with the consent of prosecutors, to
divert some low-level drug felons to treatment programs.

But the state Correctional Association says neither proposal goes far
enough.

The organization says trial judges, not appellate jurists, should be
afforded the discretion to impose a sentence lighter than now required by
law. Additionally, the group objects to giving prosecutors veto power over
whether some felons can go to treatment programs rather than prison.

A report slated for release today profiles 10 women who were sentenced to
hefty prison time for possessing small quantities of drugs. It calls for
flexibility in sentencing laws that mandate prison terms of 15 years to life
for possessing 4 ounces or selling 2 ounces of a drug.

The report also points to evidence that drug treatment reduces serious crime
by 15 times more than mandatory prison time, and that women are
disproportionately penalized by the laws.

"There's a pattern for women drug offenders, in that in many cases they
become involved in the drug trade through a relationship with a man,'' said
Robert Gangi, executive director of the Manhattan-based Correctional
Association.

Gangi said the report shows that men are more likely to bargain for a
lighter sentence by helping prosecutors.

"Women are more intimidated (to do so), and by that process, they will get a
harsher penalty than men who are more involved,'' Gangi said.

Nearly 60 percent of the women serving time in New York's prisons are in for
drug offenses, compared with 32 percent of the men, the report states.
Moreover, 91 percent of those women are black or Latina.

There are 3,500 women inmates currently in New York prisons, according to
the report. There were only 400 in prison when the Rockefeller laws were
first enacted.

Lawmakers, prosecutors and advocates from both political major parties have
long called for changes in the drug laws, with even some of the
legislation's original authors calling the measures too Draconian for
today's society. Even the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, has
questioned the wisdom of the Rockefeller laws.

Kaye's proposal, a first step toward reform, was praised by Gov. George
Pataki. But Gangi said he has "major, major'' problems with the chief
judge's plan.

"My guess is that she was trying to come up with an acceptable political
compromise,'' Gangi said. "Our concern is that if the governor and state
Senate and the district attorneys embrace her proposal, they can then make
the claim 'We fixed the problem, let's move on to other issues,' and that
would in fact not have been the case.''

Paul Browne, spokesman for the Court of Appeals, called Kaye's suggestions
"a reasonable proposal with the likelihood of winning support'' that marks
an important first step to changing the laws.