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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.
Newshawk: SirBlazinBowl - 420times.com
Source: Watertown Daily Times (NY)
Copyright: 2005 Watertown Daily Times
Contact: letters@wdt.net
Website:https://www.wdt.net
Author: Associated Press
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.
Newshawk: SirBlazinBowl - 420times.com
Source: Watertown Daily Times (NY)
Copyright: 2005 Watertown Daily Times
Contact: letters@wdt.net
Website:https://www.wdt.net
Author: Associated Press
