Rockefeller Laws: An End in Sight

[groovedaddy]

It took 35 years. The New York Legislature finally seems poised to overturn the infamous Rockefeller drug laws. The impending change comes too late for the tens of thousands of low-level, nonviolent drug offenders who wasted away in prison because of mandatory sentencing policies when they should have been given treatment and leniency. But after years of building support for reform, legislative leaders now have it within their power to make wholesale changes in this profoundly destructive law.

The Rockefeller laws tied the hands of judges by requiring lengthy prison terms even for first-time offenders. Essentially, the law allowed prosecutors to decide who went to jail and for how long. The system, which has been imitated throughout the country, filled the jails to bursting, while doing nothing to curb the drug trade.

The law has been especially disastrous for black and Latino offenders, who represent the overwhelming majority of those held in state prison for drug offenses. The Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, made just that point last week when he criticized a state commission that had been appointed to study the reform issue. The commission, which appears to have been dominated by prosecutors, called for more rational sentencing guidelines and allowing judges to send more offenders to treatment instead of prison. But it failed to get to the heart of the matter, which is a full restoration of judicial discretion.

Mr. Silver, who has favored reform for many years, described the panel’s report as “a missed opportunity” and signaled his intent to push for legislation that would eliminate mandatory sentencing for low-level, nonviolent drug crimes and expand judicial authority. Real reform “means untying the hands of our judiciary,” he noted, “and placing emphasis on probation, alternatives to incarceration and treatment.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/opinion/09mon3.html?th&emc=th

[dgibby]

1. Are the Rockerfeller Laws named after the individual who

submitted the legislation, and if so, what financial gain, if any, did that individual enjoy? Lots of bucks to be made by keeping these privately run prisons full, after all.

[corruptmewithpower]

2. Nelson Rockefeller was a governor of New York, a Repub presidential

candidate and quite wealthy already. The drug users were just an easy target at the time, sort of like the Jews in 1930s Germany. Rockefeller demonized them to gain more power.

[dgibby]

3. Thanks. I figured as much, but wasn't sure, so didn't want to

vilify an innocent person due to my ignorance. "Following the money" is always so enlightening, isn't it?

[corruptmewithpower]

4. It usually is a good idea to follow the money.

With Rockefeller though, who's grandfather founded the Standard Oil Company, the only thing left to motivate him was power.

[dgibby]

5. Power and money. 2 sides of the same coin.

That's the problem with all of this. The "masters of the universe" view the acquisition of same as a Blood Sport, and they don't give a rip about how many they hurt or kill off in the process. It's the Oligarchy's version of the Super Bowl.:mad: :puke: