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: The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Reversing Rockefeller: New York is set to repeal some of its harsh drug-offense-sentencing laws. But do the reforms go far enough?

By Real Cost of Prisons Project (The Sentencing Project)

"Prior to the just-passed modification, the Rockefeller Drug laws removed all judicial discretion from matters of sentencing. Possession of a certain amount of drugs automatically triggered a harsh sentence. Now, only those convicted of the sale of 2 ounces or more of a hard drug or possession of 4 ounces or more of a hard drug will be subject to mandatory sentencing. The changes mean that around 6,000 people currently imprisoned under the Rockefeller laws -- around 50 percent of those convicted of drug offenses overall -- will be able to petition a court for a sentence reduction. " "However, the reforms don't restore full judicial discretion in sentencing. Mandatory sentences remain for those convicted of selling more than half an ounce or possessing more than 4 ounces of a hard drug, with harsher penalties for larger amounts...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog on April 01, 2009 (boomark / email).