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For Immediate Release: May 7th, 2004 Contact: Contact: Jordan Isenstadt (c) 516.991.3842 (w) 212.490.9535 (f) 212.490.2151 ***PRESS
RELEASE*** Law Enforcement Officials from Across the Country Point to Need for Rockefeller Drug Law Reform in New York Albany, NY – With leading experts in drug sentencing reform from
across the nation having met in a symposium sponsored by the Senate Minority Task Force on Criminal Justice Reform, State Senator
Liz Krueger (D- Manhattan)
has again called for major new drug-sentencing reform legislation in New
York.
“What the testimony of these experts witnesses confirmed
is that by using models from states across the country, we can see there is
an unequivocal value in giving judges discretion in sentencing low-level,
nonviolent offenders to alternative programs, while freeing prison space and
the court system for violent criminals,” said Senator Krueger. “The reforms that the Senate Democrats propose would bring
New York into the mainstream with nearly every other state in the country in
terms of sentencing certain nonviolent, low-level drug offenders,” said Senator
Krueger. Senator Krueger noted the symposium, the first in a
series of statewide public forums designed to reform Rockefeller Drug Laws,
featured District Attorney John Bradley of Williamson County, Texas. Mr.
Bradley, a Republican appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry, is an expert on
criminal justice reform who has been extensively involved in Texas sentencing
reform and published widely on the subject. Mr. Bradley testified that in Texas “our love of long
prison terms had caught up with us. There was little distinction being drawn
in the criminal justice system between the violent and nonviolent criminal.
Everyone could get long prison terms. Everyone was eligible for early
release.” Senator Krueger said that in debating sentencing
reforms in New York it is important to look at the most successful programs
in other states. “We know that Texas has some of the toughest sentencing laws
and prosecutors of any state in the country,” said Senator Krueger.
“Yet, here a conservative Legislature and Governor saw beyond the simplistic
rhetoric and slogans, and took a progressive stand on sentencing reform. They
have the same data we do that shows that long prison terms for nonviolent,
low-level drug offenders does more harm than good in terms of public safety,
tax dollars, and human lives. Now here in New York we must put politics aside
and take the last step toward abolishing these destructive mandatory
sentences.” “This task force is a genuine effort to gets the facts
together so that we can create a determinate sentencing grid which provides a
balanced approach of expanding non-incarcerative opportunities for the truly
non-violent while maintaining harsher penalty options for the others,"
remarked Senator Krueger. "The other proposals calls for judicial
discretion and the elimination of high mandatory minimums. The plan further focuses upon public
safety by creating a statewide Offender Re-Entry Program which would provide
assistance to both the communities which will be receiving those released, as
well as to the ex-offenders themselves in an attempt to help those
individuals become productive members of society.” -30- -30- |
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