The Rockefeller Drug Laws

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that the Rockefeller Drug Laws of the 1970s set mandatory prison sentences for unlawful possession and sale of drugs using the weight of the involved drug as the key factor in determining the length of the sentence: The judges can't consider the person's character or background, if they are violent or nonviolent, a first time or a repeat offender and the criminal can't receive parole after serving the minimum time, which is 8 or 15 years. The author points out that the New York State Catholic Conference and many other organizations are calling for a change these laws by changing in the sentences, restoring judicial discretion, increasing treatment alertness and adjusting prior convictions. The paper stresses that the drug problems of prior decades are still here because no law can stop drug addicts from getting the drugs he or she needs; the growing population of drug dealers, which are clogging the prisons, won't stop if the Rockefeller Drug Laws remain active.

From the Paper:

"Anthony Papa was a man who was struggling to make ends meet. He had a shop in the Bronx and business was not going well. He had to provide for his wife and child. He was desperate for cash and word spread to the neighborhood drug dealer. The drug dealer wanted Anthony to deliver an envelope that contained 4 ounces of cocaine. At first Anthony didn't want to do it, but he convinced himself and did the delivery. To Anthony's surprise, his delivery was to an undercover drug operation. Then Anthony was sentenced 15 years to life in Sing Sing prison. This example shows how ineffective the law was. When Anthony was given a sentence of death, the drug dealer received a shorter sentence because he cooperated with the police. Anthony was just the drug dealer's pawn and went to serve painstaking time for his first criminal offence."

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