The NYCLU is expected to announce findings about the statewide impact of the Rockefeller drug laws in Albany.
This, as Governor David Paterson gets set to introduce legislation that would repeal the state’s tough drug sentencing statutes.
The State Assembly last week passed legislation to eliminate the mandatory sentences for drug offenders.
Now, the governor is pushing a middle-of-the-road plan for the closely-divided State Senate.
Paterson's plan would eliminate mandatory sentences for first-time drug offenders and would give judges the discretion to send offenders to treatment instead of prison, as long as they plead guilty. The Assembly measure does not require a guilty plea.
Paterson's bill would also not be retroactive, meaning nearly 2,000 prisoners who may have been eligible for re-sentencing under the Assembly's bill will have to remain in prison until their sentences expire or they are paroled.
No comments:
Post a Comment