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Press Release: Hundreds to Rally Wednesday at Paterson's NYC Office to End Rockefeller Drug Laws

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For Immediate Release: March 23, 2009 Contact: Jennifer Carnig at 212.607.3363 or [email protected], Correctional Association Contacts: Caitlin Dunklee at 646-269-7344, Bob Gangi at 917-327-7648 Wednesday: Hundreds to Rally at Paterson’s NYC Office to End Rockefeller Drug Laws March 23, 2009 – On Wednesday, hundreds of people, including the families of those in prison for drug offenses, people who were formerly incarcerated, doctors, lawyers and advocates, will rally at Governor Paterson’s Manhattan office to urge him and legislative leaders to end the Rockefeller Drug Laws. The Rockefeller Drug Laws mandate extremely harsh sentences for sale or possession of small amounts of drugs. Most of the thousands of people incarcerated under Rockefeller are low-level drug offenders, and most come from just a handful of low-income New York City neighborhoods. Ninety percent are black or Latino even though most people who use and sell drugs are white. In 2002, Paterson, then a state senator, was arrested in an act of civil disobedience promoting a proposed overhaul of the Rockefeller Drug Laws outside of the New York City offices of then-Governor George Pataki. Now hundreds of people will gather outside his office to demand an end to the outdated, discriminatory laws. What: Rally to end New York’s Rockefeller Drug Laws When: Wednesday, March 25, 1 p.m. Where: Governor Paterson’s office, 633 3rd Ave., between 40th and 41st Who: The Rev. Calvin Butts, Abyssinian Baptist Church Drop the Rock New York Civil Liberties Union Correctional Association of New York Drug Policy Alliance The Fortune Society Exponents Mothers of the Disappeared Center for Community Alternatives Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers (ASAP) The Bronx Defenders Women’s Prison Association Families Rally for Emancipation and Empowerment (FREE) JusticeWorks Community - xxx -
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