Group says gov acting like Uncle Scrooge
-
- December
- 28
Unlike his predecessor, George Pataki, Gov. Eliot Spitzer did not issue clemency to anyone incarcerated under the Rockefeller-era drug laws this year, the Drug Policy Alliance said in a statement this week. The alliance has worked to scale back the laws, which it believes are “draconian” and overly severe for non-violent drug offenders. Reforms to the laws in recent years have not gone far enough, according to the group.
“There were many families praying this holiday season that Gov. Spitzer would show his compassion and allow people to return to their families and reenter society as productive citizens. They are devastated to learn that he is not granting any clemencies,” said Anthony Papa of the group, who was sentenced to 15 years to life under the drug laws and received clemency from Pataki in 1996.
“I know first-hand how meaningful a holiday clemency can be,” Papa said. “For the last 10 years, I’ve been a productive member of society instead of being locked in a cage for a first-time non-violent offense, costing taxpayers nearly half a million dollars. The governor, with one stroke of his pen, can allow others to have the same opportunity that I had.”
The group said that 28 of the 32 clemencies granted by Pataki were for people serving sentences under the Rockefeller-era drug laws.
This entry was posted
on Friday, December 28th, 2007 at 5:58 pm by Cara Matthews.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Share and Enjoy: | 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Jay Gallagher has covered Albany for Gannett News Service since 1984 and has been Albany Bureau chief since 1989. He`s a native of the Boston area and likes to point out that in this millennium, the score is Red Sox 1 championship, the Yankees 0. 
Cara Matthews has been a statehouse correspondent in the Albany Bureau since August 2005. Prior to that, she covered Putnam County government and politics at The Journal News for nearly five years. Before that, she worked at newspapers in Connecticut and covered the state Legislature for one of them. 
