GOVERNOR'S PLAN WOULD RELEASE SOME DRUG OFFENDERS EARLY

Albany - Gov. George Pataki, who was first elected to office on a platform
of harsher jail terms and parole restrictions, is advocating letting some
well-behaved drug offenders out of prison early and ending parole early for
others.

Pataki's budget proposal, unveiled Wednesday, includes these and other
changes designed to save the state millions in prison costs and overtime
for law enforcement personnel. But the measures are receiving mixed
reactions from prosecutors, police and defense attorneys.

"We do not oppose diverting drug-addicted, nonviolent offenders to
treatment programs as opposed to incarceration and have done so in many
ways," said James Vargason, president of the state District Attorneys
Association. "But a felony is the highest, most serious offense you can be
convicted of, and this gets into the question of what constitutes violence."

One of Pataki's proposals would allow people imprisoned under the strictest
portions of the state's Rockefeller-era drug laws to be released from
prison after 10 years, cutting for good behavior a third of the 15 years to
life they now serve.

Another proposal would end the parole terms for those drug felons after 2
years if they behave well. It would allow many other felons to be released
from parole after one year.

A third proposal would also expand current parole rules, which allow
nonviolent inmates with sentences of 6 years or fewer to qualify for early
release if they demonstrate rehabilitation. Pataki wants to extend this
option to those serving sentences of up to 8 years.

The administration says those measures together would save $21.2 million in
the next fiscal year in prison operating costs.

"The governor's position is that it shouldn't be a one size fits all," when
it comes to crime and punishment, said Chauncey Parker, the state's
Director of Criminal Justice. "These measures do save money, but the No. 1
goal is public safety."

But advocates for reducing the high mandatory minimum sentences required by
the state's drug laws say Pataki's proposals fall short. "Anything that
would give them a chance to get back to society sooner is clearly a good
thing. But this is a drop in the bucket compared to the Rockefeller drug
law reform that is needed," said Lisa Schreibersdorf, director of the
Brooklyn Defender Services, a legal aid organization.

Defense lawyers are also objecting to another Pataki proposal that would
allow police to submit affidavits to grand juries in many cases instead of
appearing. State Police estimate it would save $250,000, but defense
lawyers say this could deprive those people facing possible indictments of
their rights.