Infamous drug laws turn 35
-
- May
- 8
Six committees of the Assembly are holding a daylong hearing in New York City today on the 35th anniversary of the Rockefeller-era drug laws. As of Jan. 1, 13,425 drug offenders were in state prison
—21 percent of the male prison population and more than 33 percent of the female population. Other statistics include:
—Most have never been convicted of a violent offense.
—Up to 40 percent are incarcerated for drug possession rather than selling drugs.
—More than 90 percent of all drug offenders in New York state prisons are black or latino.
The committees are looking at the laws’ impact on drug addiction, drug-related health problems and drug-related crime, as well as whether substance-abuse treatment as an alternative to incarceration reduces recidivism and other issues.
Prisoner advocates have long criticized the laws as too harsh, but district attorneys and others disagree. A coalition called “Drop the Rock” has been pushing for the state to overturn mandantory sentences required by the laws and instead allow judges to decide sentences. They argue that changes to the laws in 2004 and 2005 did not go far enough in reducing prison time for non-violent offenders. There are about 13,400 drug offenders in state prisons.
A second hearing is planned a week from today in Rochester.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 11:21 am by Cara Matthews.
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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. 
