Mandatory Sentencing Laws and Drug Offenders in New York State

Over 90% of the inmates locked up in NYS prisons today for drug offenses are there because of the mandatory sentencing provisions of two laws that were passed 26 years ago, in 1973. The Rockefeller Drug Laws require harsh prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts of drugs. For example, the most severe provision of these statutes requires that a person convicted of selling two ounces of a narcotic or of possessing four ounces of same receive a minimum prison term of 15 years to life. The Second Felony Offender Law mandates a prison term for all repeat felons regardless of the nature of the offense or the background or motivation of the offender.

Effects of the Laws

• As of December 31, 1998, there were 9,225 drug offenders locked up in NYS prisons under the mandatory sentencing provisions of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. It costs over $295 million per year to keep these offenders imprisoned.

• As of December 31, 1998, there were 11,458 drug offenders locked up in NYS prisons under the Second Felony Offender Law. It costs over $365 million per year to confine these people in prison.

• As of December 31, 1998, there were 5,639 people locked up in NYS prisons for drug possession, as opposed to drug selling. Some of these offenders were confined under the Rockefeller Drug Laws, some under the Second Felony Offender Law. It costs about $180 million per year to keep these people in prison.

• As of December 31, 1998, there were 22,386 drug offenders in the NYS prison system, about 33% of the entire prison population. It costs over $715 million per year to keep these people in prison.

• Of the 19,453 commitments to the NYS prison system in 1998, 9,063 or 46.6% were for drug offenses. In 1980, 886 drug offenders were sent to State prison, 11% of the total commitments for that year.

• In 1998, alone, the Second Felony Offender Law -- which was amended slightly in 1995 by the governor and legislature -- required prison terms for 7,147 low-level offenders, most of whom were minor drug offenders. It costs nearly $230 million per year just to maintain these people in the state's prison system.

Criminal Histories of Drug Offenders

• Of all drug offenders sent to NYS prisons in 1997, nearly 80% were never convicted of a violent felony and nearly half were never arrested for a violent felony.

• Of drug offenders sent to NYS prisons in 1997, nearly 32% had no prior felony convictions and over 17% had never been arrested for a felony.

• 25% of the drug offenders in NYS prisons were convicted of simple drug possession.

• 60% of the drug offenders in NYS prisons were convicted of the three lowest felonies - Class C, D, or E - which involve only minute drug amounts. For example, only 1/2 gram of cocaine is required for conviction of Class D felony possession, and 1,242 people are locked up for that offense.

Racial Composition

• Studies and experience have shown that the majority of people who use and sell drugs in NYS and the nation are white.

• African-Americans and Latinos comprise over 94% of the drug offenders in NYS prisons. African-Americans, 48.7%; Latinos, 45.5%; whereas whites make up only 4.9%.

• Of the 3,504 women in NYS prisons on December 31st, 1998, 1,971 or 56.3% were there for drug offenses. 91% of the women drug offenders in NYS prisons are people of color: 54.3% are African-American and 36.7% are Latina. Only 8.4% are white.

Cost-Effective Alternatives

• A 1997 study by RAND's Drug Policy Research Center concluded that treatment is the most effective tool in the fight against drug abuse, finding that treatment reduces 15 times more serious crime than mandatory minimum sentences.

• Several studies sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse have shown that drug treatment programs, on the whole, are successful in reducing the levels of drug abuse and crime among participants and in increasing their ability to hold a job.

• There are over 1,500,000 alcohol and substance abusers in New York State. About 270,000, 15% of the total, are served in publicly funded or privately run treatment programs.

• The cost of keeping an inmate in NYS prison for a year is about $32,000. In comparison, the cost of most drug free outpatient care runs about $2,700-4,500 per person per year; and the cost of residential drug treatment is $17,000-$21,000 per participant per year.

Sources: The NYS Department of Correctional Services, the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Human Rights Watch, and the Legal Action Center

March 1999