April 2, 2009
New York Governor David Paterson and legislative leaders have agreed to ease the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Reforms to the 1973 drug laws would give judges the power to send first-time nonviolent offenders to treatment facilities instead of prison. The changes would also repeal many of the mandatory minimum prison sentences currently in place for lower-level drug offenders. There are approximately 1,500 people imprisoned for low-level nonviolent drug offenses that would be allowed to apply for re-sentencing under these reforms.
ReconsiDer is a nonprofit in Syracuse that works on alternatives to combat the war on drugs. This organization advocates legalizing drugs to eliminate the crime that is often associated with dealers and addicts. The Executive Director of ReconsiDer Nicolas Eyle says the reforms that New York State is trying to pass are only a baby step in the right direction. He says drugs need to be completely legal if we really want to see a drop in crime and a reduction in our prison population. Eyle says America has five percent of the worlds population, 25 percent of the world's prisoners and half of them are non-violent drug offenders.
"What we need to do if we really want to see a drop in crime and we want to see serious reduction in our prison population we need to legalize these drugs," Eyle says.
Not everyone agrees that easing the harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws is a good idea. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick says the reform bill is reckless. He said he is extremely disappointed in those people that have been elected to protect the citizens of New York State.
"They don't get the fact that the threat of incarceration by those facing criminal prosecution has been proven to be the most effective incentive to enter and successfully complete a treatment program," Fitzpatrick says.
The state legislature is expected to vote on the reforms soon.
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