04-25-2009, 09:29 PM
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Ganja Smoker
Pot Head
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Uzbekistan
Posts: 379
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http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=66161
Governor Signs Rockefeller Drug Reform Laws
Governor David Paterson signed a bill into law Friday that reforms the state's Rockefeller Drug Laws. The governor has said for years that the laws are unfair and not operating in the way they were intended.
"In addition to being unjust, these policies simply aren't working," Paterson has said. "They've only created a revolving door where the offenders were mired in a cycle of arrest and abuse."
When first passed in 1973 by then-Governor Nelson Rockefeller, the laws were among the most strict in the nation. Possessing four ounces of narcotics could get an offender fifteen years to life in prison, which was the same penalty for second-degree murder. The sentencing guidelines have been relaxed some since then, but Friday morning the governor took an additional step.
The new bill allows first-time drug offenders, in all but the most serious cases, to receive treatment or probation for their crime.
"If you have somebody who's addicted to drugs it's better to get them treatment than to put them in prison," said Rachelle Cybulski, Erie County's Acting Director of Probation and Parole.
She approves of the reform, on that front, while many Republicans have blasted the measure for putting more drug offenders on the streets. Cybulski said she was, however, worried about how it would impact the caseload for her probation officers.
"If people aren't being sentenced to prisons for drug convictions then they'd probably be sentenced to probation," Cybulski said.
She added that, so far, there have been no indications that departments will get additional officers, but she said her employees will work hard to adapt to any additional caseloads they receive.
"We do have regulations, it's just that we need people in order to comply with those regulations," she said.
The governor pointed out that the reforms actually toughen penalties for certain higher-level offenders, and he said the new plan will save the state money by reducing the number of people incarcerated. Some of the money saved will go toward funding treatment centers for offenders.
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