Rockerfeller Drug Laws

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the Rockerfeller drug laws that force courts to impose heavy mandatory prison sentencing for those in possession of a small amount of drugs. The paper focuses on the flaws in these policies that include the high cost, high proportion of minorities incarcerated and failure in reducing drug-related crime. The paper examines how rehabilitation with regards to the Rockerfeller drug laws will work to address drug crimes, save money, address recidivism and target violence. The paper outlines the newly agreed upon Rockerfeller drug law reforms, that promise several promising programs and sentencing responses.

Outline:
Introduction
Goals of Sentencing and Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation Works To Address Drug Crimes
Promising Programs and Sentencing Responses

From the Paper:

"The Rockerfeller Drug Laws, enacted in 1973, forces courts to impose heavy mandatory prison sentencing for those in possession of a small amount of drugs. The Drop the Rock Campaign [DTRC] (nd), an initiative of the Correctional Association of New York, reports that it costs $520 million dollars a year to keep the 12,000 (approximate) people incarcerated for minor-non-violent crimes due to the Rockerfeller Drug Laws. DTRC estimates that close to ninety percent of those incarcerated are minorities (Latino or African Americans) when it is known that those who sell and use drugs the most are White Americans."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Borsa, J. (2009, March 27). Reforming NY's Rockerfeller Drug Laws. WKBW-TV. Retrieved on April 6, 2009 from http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/42031077.html
• Center for Court Innovation. (N.d.). Drug Court Tech. Retrieved online on April 7, 2009 from http://www.drugcourttech.org/credit_1.html.
• Drop the Rock Campaign. (N.D.). What are the Rockefeller Drug Laws?. Retrieved online on April 5, 2009 from http://www.droptherock.org/?page_id=2
• Haberman, C. (2008, May 13). 35 years of Rockerfeller Drug Laws, and hope there won't be 36. New York Times Online. Retrieved on April 7, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/nyregion/13nyc.html
• Silver, S. (2009, March 27). Remarks of Speaker Sheldon Silver: Announcing agreement on reform of the Rockerfeller Drug Laws. Retrieved online on April 7, 2009 from http://assembly.state.ny.us/Press/20090327/

More papers on Rockerfeller Drug Laws:

• Argumentative Essay # 63079 : "The Rockefeller Drug Laws"
• Essay # 51233 : "Rockefeller Drug Laws"
• Research Proposal # 28180 : "America's Anti-Drug Laws"

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