CHAMBERS' ARREST HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR FURTHER REFORMS

Robert Chambers spent 15 years in prison for the notorious murder of
Jennifer Levin, whom he claimed he accidentally strangled during rough
sex. Despite his horrific crime, Chambers was allowed to plead guilty
to first-degree manslaughter instead of second-degree murder and was
sentenced to serve between five and 15 years in prison.

Now, 21 years later, Chambers has been arrested again, this time on
charges of selling cocaine to undercover officers. He faces life in
prison.

Those who remember his 1986 slaying case will have no sympathy for
Chambers. What's most outrageous about this case, though, is that
Chambers faces more time for a drug offense than he did for taking
someone's life.

There are still about 14,000 individuals in New York's prisons who
were sentenced under the Rockefeller Drug Laws. That's the case
despite minor reforms by the State Legislature in 2004 and 2005 that
slightly reduced the length of most drug sentences. Many of those
incarcerated are nonviolent offenders serving longer sentences than
people who commit rape or murder.

Take, for example, Ashley O'Donoghue, a first-time nonviolent offender
who sold a small amount of drugs to two students at Hamilton College
in Oneida County in 2003. The students worked out a deal for
probation. O'Donoghue, however, is serving a seven-to 21-year prison
sentence.

Even Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno admits drug law reform is
unfinished, and that much more needs to be done. The reforms by the
Legislature did not provide the needed relief for the vast majority of
offenders. What they did accomplish was to reduce the longest
sentences from 15 years to life to between eight and 20 years. The
reforms also made some long-term drug offenders eligible for
retroactive relief.

But the Legislature still hasn't provided funding to increase the
availability of community-based drug treatment. It hasn't increased
the power of judges to place addicts in treatment programs. Nor has
the Legislature provided relief for the 4,000 class B drug felons.

Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer recently put together a panel to study the
disparity of sentencing guidelines in New York. One of the issues was
the Rockefeller Drug Laws. But in its preliminary report, the
commission failed even to mention reform of the Rockefeller Laws.

Denise O'Donnell, the commissioner of criminal justice services and
chairwoman of the Commission on Sentencing Reform, said the issue
would be addressed next time. But this is one issue that doesn't need
any more study. It needs political will and action.

The sentencing commission will hold a public hearing Monday at the
Public Library Auditorium in Buffalo. Many of the citizens affected by
the Rockefeller Drug Laws will attend. Their message to the commission
will be this: This injustice needs to be fixed now, not "next time."