FEWER THAN HALF OF ELIGIBLE DRUG CONVICTS RELEASED

Advocates Of New Drug Law Say Some Judges And Prosecutors Oppose Changes In
Current Sentences

ALBANY - Less than half of those who applied for early release under
Rockefeller drug law reforms enacted last year have been released from
prison, the state Department of Correctional Services said Wednesday.

Through July, 184 of the 446 inmates convicted of A-1 felonies who
were eligible to have their prison terms reduced have gone through the
process and been resentenced. Of those, 88 have been released,
Corrections Department spokeswoman Linda Foglia said.

Another 540 drug dealers and users convicted under the state's
Rockefeller drug laws will be able to appeal their sentences under a
bill signed into law by Gov. George Pataki on Tuesday night.

The law will allow those convicted of nonviolent Class A-2 felonies
that include possession and sale of narcotics the chance to petition
for resentencing and early release.

Last December, Pataki signed legislation scaling back some of the
mandatory sentencing for drug offences. Under the law, inmates serving
time for A-1 felonies - more serious than A-2 felonies - were allowed
to petition for a reduction in their mandatory sentences.

Most of the convicts eligible for early release under last year's
measure have yet to have their cases heard.

William Gibney, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society in New York City,
said the bulk of the applications are still being prepared. Many have
been delayed because of the time it takes to pull together all the
records needed, including an inmate's prison disciplinary record and
the circumstances surrounding the crime.

Prosecutors have opposed letting many of the inmates go free any time
soon, Gibney said.

"In my opinion many DAs are coming in with sentence recommendations
that are high," he said. "They are not opposing resentencing, but
they're disputing what the sentences should be."

The states District Attorneys Association has opposed measures to
repeal or overhaul the Rockefeller laws saying they have worked to
reduce crime. Many prosecutors wanted to retain the right to block the
diversion of drug offenders to treatment.

Last year police and prosecutors formed the Law Enforcement Coalition
Against Drug Decriminalization. The coalition wanted to prevent most
drug offenders from avoiding prison entirely in favor of treatment
programs.

Rockland County District Attorney Michael Bongiorno said that while he
would follow the law, he and other prosecutors would likely continue
to oppose resentencing in many cases.

"Advocates for changing the law throw around the term 'non-violent,'
but the drug trade is permeated with violence top to bottom," he said.

The reforms apply to laws passed in 1973 and 1974 under former Gov.
Nelson Rockefeller, who pushed for the maximum life sentences and
other harsh punishments for drug offenders during an era when inner
cities in the state were being inundated by heroin addiction.

There are now 14,503 people serving sentences for felony drug crimes
in New York state prisons. That's out of a total prison population of
62,739 as of Aug. 1, Foglia said.

Critics of the mandatory drug laws say they've caused too many
low-level dealers and addicts to spend too much time in state prison.
They also say minority offenders are disproportionately sent to prison
under the statutes.

Gabriel Sayegh, a policy analyst with Drug Policy Alliance, a
nationwide nonprofit group working for drug policy reform, said about
92 percent of those serving drug sentences in New York are black or
Hispanic.