BILL ON DRUG OFFENDERS FAILS

Delegates Vote Against Making Second-Time Felons Eligible for Parole

After a fierce debate in which some lawmakers raised concerns about
the effectiveness of the nation's war on drugs, the Maryland House of
Delegates defeated by one vote a bill to allow some second-time drug
offenders to become eligible for parole.

Lawmakers opposing the measure, which failed 68-69, said it would
reward drug dealers and gang members while making communities more dangerous.

"They are going to get more lenient treatment under the provision of
this bill," said Del Anthony J. O'Donnell, the House minority leader
from Southern Maryland. "I suggest our citizens are not willing to
hand down rewards for drug dealers who are preying on our children.
This is bad policy, serious bad policy."

Del. Curtis S. Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat and lead sponsor of the
measure, said the bill was written to offer a treatment option to
low-level drug offenders, many of whom tend to be drug users.

Anderson stressed that the bill would affect only second-time
offenders serving mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years in jail.
Such offenders would be eligible for parole after serving half their
sentence, he said. Parole boards have the discretion of referring
offenders to treatment.

"Our citizens are also asking us to come up with a more creative
response to the drug problem in our communities," Anderson said. "For
the last 40 years, we have tried to incarcerate our way out of the
problem, and it really hasn't worked. For 40 years, we have increased
the penalties and the prison population continues to grow. But the
problem also continues to grow."

Other lawmakers used the bill as an opportunity to speak out against
what they called unjust mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws.

Del. Doyle L. Niemann, a Democrat from Prince George's County, said
the sentencing provisions disproportionately hurt African-American
communities and do little to win the drug war.

"Having prosecuted people under this law, I will tell you this does
not make sense," he said. "They are selling $10 rocks of crack
cocaine. These are not big-time drug dealers. They are not the gangs.
There are other laws for kingpins. This does not affect them."

In its original form, the legislation would have allowed judges
discretion in sentencing repeat offenders who commit certain drug
crimes. But lawmakers said the provisions were too lenient and
amended the bill to address parole provisions and exempted offenders
convicted of violent crimes.

Del. Patrick L. McDonough, a Baltimore County Republican, criticized
lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee who advanced the bill, saying it
represented a trend of soft-on-crime measures being considered by that body.

"It's crystal clear ... we are having early-release mania," he said.
"We are finding loopholes and making them bigger. The people back
home don't want this. We need to send them a message that you are
down here to protect public safety and to protect victims of crime."

Anderson said he plans to push for the House to reconsider the bill
when it convenes today. Lawmakers would have to agree by a simple
majority vote to reconsider the bill. Anderson said he hopes to
convince a few of his colleagues to support the bill. He said he
thinks it could have passed yesterday, but several supportive
lawmakers were absent.

"It's a difficult process, sometimes you don't explain yourself as
forcefully as you need to," he said. "It's clearly an issue we need
to look at."

Del. Brian K. McHale, a Baltimore Democrat who voted against the
legislation, said he doesn't plan on reconsidering his position.

"In my district there are so many victims of crimes of repeat drug
offenders," he said. "I'm all for expanded drug treatment in jail.
But I won't change my mind on this."