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H.L. December 14-Early Last week it was announced that after
30 years the Rockefeller drug laws would finally be amended.
This isn’t a full repeal of the law but some of the
most severe laws and mandates were slashed down the Rockefeller
drug laws were enacted into law by Nelson Rockefeller In
May of 1973. The purpose of these laws was and is to deter
citizens from using or selling drugs and to punish and isolate
from society those who were not deterred. The Rockefeller
Drug Laws established mandatory prison sentences for the
unlawful possession and sale of controlled substances keyed
to the weight of the drug involved. Generally, the statutes
require judges to impose a sentence of 15-years to life
for anyone convicted of selling two ounces, or possessing
four ounces of "narcotic drug" (typically cocaine
or heroin).
The law has long been considered unjust because of the mandatory
minimums and life terms and the extremely severe penalties
for first time offenders and petty offenders. This repeal
was a long time coming. The law was first considered a failure
In 1977 The Committee on New York Drug Law Evaluations,
a partnership between the Association of the Bar of the
City of New York and The Drug Abuse Council, Inc. That same
year legislators removed marijuana from the list of substances
covered by the Rockefeller Drug Laws, decriminalizing its
use and simple possession under 7/8 oz.
Russell Simmons, Hip Hop mogul and Def Jam Records founder
has been recognized by many politicians as the major push
behind getting punishments scaled down. Governor George
Pataki thanked Simmons and promised to sign the bill into
law. On December 14th he did jus that. The bill was approved
by the Assembly 96-41 and by the Senate 53-6.
There are many changes to the law the biggest, sentences
for major offenders would be cut from mandatory 15 years
to life to sentences ranging from 8 to 20 years. Prisoners
who are granted “good time” can be released
in less than 7 years Currently there are 400 offenders in
the system that can petition for reduced sentences or even
for release because of that change. Sentences for nonviolent
offenders, and B felonies would be reduced from minimum
4 1/2 years to 3 1/2 years. Other provisions of the law
are that drug offenders could be sent to community based
treatment programs 6 months sooner than under the revised
law and nonviolent drug offenders could earn more merit
time in jail through drug treatment or completing educational
and vocational courses.
There is still work to be done on the laws, some people suggest
there should be funding for drug treatment, others believe
the sentences should be scaled down further. There are even
a select few that feel laws have been scaled down far enough
as is. One thing I hope we can all agree on is that this is
a move in the right direction.
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