The Rockefeller Drug Laws, enacted in 1973 with the aim of discouraging drug use and imprisoning offenders, imposed harsh penalties for the sale, possession, and use of illegal drugs. The laws were criticized for their severity and slowly reformed starting in 1979, with the final replacement in 2009. The laws mandated mandatory penalties of at least 15 years to life for possession and sale of controlled substances, leading to a dramatic increase in the state’s prison population. The laws disproportionately affected low-level street drug dealers and drug addicts, and were criticized for treating a social problem with punishments and prison. The laws were revised in 2004 and 2009, removing minimum sentence mandates and giving judges discretion to sentence nonviolent first-time offenders to alternative penalties such as treatment. The 2009 revision erased any resemblance to Rockefeller’s severely punitive drug laws, which had unintended social and fiscal consequences on New York and its taxpayers.
The Rockefeller Drug Laws, named for New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, were a series of laws enacted in 1973 that imposed the harshest penalties in the nation for the sale, possession and use of illegal drugs. Their expressed intent was to discourage the sale or use of such drugs and to imprison those who were not deterred. Widely criticized for their severity, they were slowly reformed starting in 1979 and finally replaced completely in 2009.
The original laws mandated indeterminate mandatory penalties of at least 15 years to life for possession of 4 ounces (114 g) or more of controlled substances, most commonly marijuana, heroin and cocaine. The same penalties applied to the sale of 2 ounces (57 g) or more. These sentences were roughly the equivalent of those handed down for second-degree murder, and judges were not afforded any discretion to reduce sentences due to extenuating circumstances. Most of those convicted under the new laws were low-level street drug dealers and drug addicts themselves.
Rockefeller, a liberal Republican, proposed the laws because New York City was faced with steadily rising crime rates in the early 1970s, and drug arrests in 1972 alone increased by more than 30%. The state was exploring alternatives to incarceration, particularly treatment, but these appeared to be ineffective. The governor faced growing calls for tougher punishments for drug offenses and finally proposed these harsh drug laws. Enacted in 1973 by the legislature after minimal negotiation, they quickly acquired the governor’s name in the national lexicon. Some also believe that Rockefeller, by seriously considering a run for the White House, was pandering to the “law and order” element within his party.
The Rockefeller drug laws were intended to have a deterrent effect on the sale and use of illegal drugs in the state, but drug arrests have continued to climb and the state’s overall crime rate has also shown no signs of declining . The stringency of the laws was instrumental in persuading some suspects to give evidence against those they worked for, giving prosecutors tools to prosecute criminal organizations and their bosses, who had typically escaped prosecution. The severity of even the minimum sentence, however, gave prosecutors little leeway in plea deals.
The impact of the Rockefeller drug laws on the state’s prison population has been dramatic. Prior to their enactment, only about 11% of state prisoners were drug offenders, but by the mid-1990s this percentage had risen to about 35% in a prison population that itself more than tripled from 20,000 to almost 65,000 prisoners. The vast majority of those convicted of drug offenses, however, were nonviolent drug dealers and drug addicts. Few major players in the drug trade have been convicted under the Rockefeller drug laws.
Criticism of the laws began soon after they were enacted and came from all points of the political spectrum. One of the most common points was that they treated a social problem with punishments and prison. In 1979, in its first official response to this criticism, the state repealed that section of the law that applies to marijuana, effectively decriminalizing possession of 7/8 ounces (24.8 g) or less. It also increased the amount of controlled substance sold or possessed required to trigger the minimum sentence of 15 years to life.
Despite continued criticism and evidence of their ineffectiveness in combating illegal drug use, the Rockefeller drug laws remained unchanged until 2004, when they underwent the first of two major revisions. Sentences were reduced, the weights needed to trigger those sentences were raised again, and criminals who had already been sentenced to life imprisonment were allowed to seek re-sentencing. The laws were revised again in 2009, removing minimum sentence mandates altogether and giving judges the discretion to sentence nonviolent first-time offenders to alternative penalties such as treatment. Another important element of the 2009 revision was that it allowed all those convicted under previous terms to apply for a new conviction or release.
The 2009 revision erased any resemblance to Rockefeller’s severely punitive drug laws. Those laws, in addition to incarcerating addicts and drug dealers for extremely long sentences, also imposed unintended social and fiscal consequences on New York and its taxpayers. For example, black males have been incarcerated disproportionately to their representation in the population, in many cases depriving families of husbands, fathers and breadwinners. The impact on the economy has also been severe, converting many working taxpayers with drug addictions into long-term inmates requiring expensive taxpayer-provided support, and sometimes even converting their families into welfare recipients.
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