AWAITING REAL ROCKEFELLER REFORM Anthony Papa, AlterNet New York's
drug laws ensure that the privileged and connected receive leniency
for the same offenses that send thousands of blacks and Latinos to prison.

Julia Diaco, the so-called "Pot Princess" was sentenced on March 22
in Manhattan Supreme Court to five years' probation for drug dealing.
Diaco was 18 years old when she was arrested for multiple sales of
drugs to undercover narcotic officers from her dorm room at NYU.
Despite having a "strong" case against her and facing up to 25 years
in prison if convicted, she received probation upon completing a drug
rehab and education program.

This follows the high-profile case of Caroline Quartararo, a former
spokeswoman on Rockefeller drug law reform for Gov. Pataki who
received a similar minor sentence after being arrested with crack
cocaine. Quartararo was given treatment and a $250 fine. She was
arrested on Dec. 20 for possessing three rocks of crack cocaine. She
pleaded guilty to seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Cheri O'Donoghue, whose son Ashley is currently serving a sentence of
7-21 years for a first-time nonviolent drug offense, said the cases
of Julia Diaco and Caroline Quartararo prove that "if you are rich
and privileged, you will likely receive compassion from the courts.

"While I support the notion of compassion and access to treatment for
people who use and abuse drugs," said O'Donoghue, "the reality is
that people of color who get caught up in the criminal justice system
generally receive neither." While drug use rates are similar between
blacks and whites, approximately 92 percent of the people in prison
on drug charges in New York are black and Latino.

O'Donoghue's 23-year-old son, who is black, sold cocaine to two white
students, who in turn sought to resell the drugs on their Hamilton
College campus. The students were caught and received probation.
Ashley O'Donoghue was left to languish in prison, another casualty of
the draconian Rockefeller drug laws. He is one of more than 4,000
people sitting in New York state prisons convicted of B-level
Rockefeller drug law felonies. The modest reforms to the state's drug
laws in 2004 and 2005 have no impact on these B-level offenders.

Gabriel Sayegh, director of the State Organizing and Policy Project
of the Drug Policy Alliance says New Yorkers want to see meaningful
Rockefeller Drug Law reform. "Even after the reforms last year, the
vast majority of people incarcerated under these failed laws are
still languishing behind bars," he said. "Our elected officials in
Albany need to take action to enact real reform of these laws, so
that young men like Ashley O'Donoghue can receive the same compassion
as those who are rich, well-connected or are employed by the governor."

Anthony Papa Is The Author Of "15 To Life: How I Painted My Way To
Freedom" (Feral House).