Sentencing: No Retroactive Relief for Rockefeller Drug Law Prisoners, New York Appeals Court Rules
People serving tough mid-level sentences under New York's draconian Rockefeller drug laws will not be able to get those sentences reduced if they were convicted before drug sentencing reforms took effect in January 2005, the state's highest court ruled September 21. In its opinion in the consolidated cases of three men sentenced under the old laws, the court held that the legislature intended only to cut the sentences of those newly convicted.
not enough: Gov. Pataki signs Rockefeller reform bill, 12/04
But in a unanimous decision, the court said no way. The bill clearly stated that the law would "apply to crimes committed on or after the effective date," the court noted. "Under the plain language of the statute, the relevant provisions of the DLRA are intended to apply only to crimes committed after its effective date," Chief Judge Judith Kaye said in her decision. "That being so, defendants are not eligible for the reduced penalties contained in the new law."
It took years of dogged effort by a broad coalition of civil rights, prison reform, and drug reform groups to win even the partial reform that was approved in 2004. Now, the New York courts have strongly signaled that any further relief must come through that same cumbersome legislative process.
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redditI need help
Comment posted by Anonymous on Mon, 10/20/2008 - 5:45pmI was sentenced under the Rockefella Law in 2001 and need help finding a way of this life parole.. Please Help me...
While opium use has a
Comment posted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/09/2008 - 3:50amWhile opium use has a centuries-old tradition in Vietnam, the Communist government has wiped out most large-scale poppy production. But trafficking from other Southeast Asian nations has been on the rise, drug use has increased sharply since the 1990s, and "heroin continues to be the preferred drug among younger drug abusers," according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Iran, facing a flood of Afghan Lingerie Wholesaleand heroin, has embraced a similarly final response. The three drug traffickers hanged Wednesday in Qom and the two hanged the same day in Zahedan were only the latest in the Islamic Republic's ongoing battle against trafficking.
Rockafella Drug Law
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 11:08amI thought the bill would apply retro-actively. It seems like wool over the general citizens and the convicted fellons eyes, that it does not.
I personally do not think anyone should serve more than 20 years in prison for any crime; for the most atrocious, they should receive death.
The max for 1st time drug sellers and users should be 5 years.
The law was put in place to kill off minorities, which this country, especially New York City, transparently show their abhorence of every year or two by letting police officers kill unarmed minorities without any penalty what so ever.
So it stands. The fight must continue on for equality and justice in this country.