It costs New York taxpayers $500 MILLION A YEAR to keep non-violent drug offenders in prison. As of Jan. 1, 2008 there were more than 13,400 drug offenders in New York State prisons, most of who had no history of violent behavior. The most effective tool to fight drug abuse is treatment. Yet New York insists on locking up drug abusers. Not only is this a detriment to the offender, it is expensive. Drug treatment costs about $2,700-$4,500 a year, while it costs $36,835 a year to keep a low-level drug offender in prison. Alternately, we could send the prisoner to community college for eight years at this price. Why do we insist on continuing to incarcerate instead of educate or rehabilitate?

We can do better and when I am elected I will go to the mat to reform these draconian laws.

• Expand alternatives to incarceration.
• Restore sentencing discretion to judges in all drug cases, giving them the power to consider the circumstances and disposition of drug offenders.
• Provide retroactive sentencing relief for all persons currently incarcerated under the Rockefeller-era drug laws.
• Increase state resources for alternative sentencing treatment and addiction treatment programs in prisons and in our communities.
• Reduce sentence lengths for all drug offenses.

The prison system in America is mostly privatized and is one of the largest industries in the country. As recent proposed prison closings show, NYS must provide viable economic opportunities to ex-prison employees. Good paying, secure Green Jobs would create meaningful, alternate employment. Further, workers could continue to live in their current communities and support their families there.

We also need innovative alternatives to incarceration. The recidivism rate for drug offenders is about 2/3 within three years. If we focus on helping convicts learn to be responsible, taxpaying citizens and give them fulfilling employment which benefits themselves and their communities we are more likely to keep them out of prison - and save taxpayers millions of dollars every year.

WITH THE $200 MILLION DOLLARS IN SAVINGS FROM THESE ALTERNATIVE POLICIES, NEW YORK CAN INVEST IN GREEN COLLAR JOBS, ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, AND ENERGY SECURITY.

For more information:

www.drugpolicy.org
www.correctionalassociation.org

Testimony of New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane Before the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform:

November 15, 2007

I am New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane and I represent the 29th Senate District. From 2002-2006 I was the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Codes Committee -- which was the committee directly involved with the issue of criminal sentencing reform in the New York State Senate.

I would like to thank the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform for allowing me to present testimony today on the urgent need for sentencing reform -- especially on the issue of repealing the Rockefeller Drug Laws. I believe that we have done very little in New York to reform these harsh and unnecessary drug laws.

In 2004, the New York State Legislature was facing incredible pressure by the public to eliminate the Rockefeller Drug Laws. This gave us a real opportunity to completely restructure our drug laws.

Tragically, the Legislature reached a poor compromise and passed laws in December of 2004 and August of 2005 that did very little in the way of Rockefeller Drug Law reform -- but it did have tragic consequences -- it completely took the momentum and incentive out of the Legislature to enact an actual and meaningful repeal of the laws.

The 2004 and 2005 legislation did nothing to eliminate the low-level first time non-violent class "B" offenses. In 2004 Senate Minority Leader David Paterson and I issued a report showing that we have the harshest laws in the country for low level B offenses. I have been a vocal advocate that until we enact legislation which provides meaningful reform for class "B" drug offenses, we have not done out jobs as legislators in the area of sentencing reform.

A look at current statistics proves that the legislation enacted in 2004 and 2005 provides little relief to the staggering numbers of people convicted under the Rockefeller drug laws:

• There are over 13,900 drug offenders locked up in NYS prisons. This costs the State of New York $1.5 billion to construct the prisons to house the drug offenders. And operating offenses for confining them is over $510 million per year.

• In 2006, 36% of people sent to prison were drug offenders. In 1980 the figure was 11%.

• About 39% of the drug offenders in New York State prisons, more than 5,400 people were locked up for drug possession, as opposed to drug selling. It costs over $190 million to keep them in prison.

• Of all drug offenders in NYS prisons in 1999, 80% were never convicted of a felony.

Further, there is no question that these laws a racially biased; studies show that the majority of persons who use and sell drugs in New York State and across the country are white. Yet African Americans and Latinos comprise 91% of drug offenders in New York's prisons. Whites make up only 8%.