But now, midway through his second term, Pataki has proposed measures that would make him one of the most prominent and successful governors in the state's history. Our state prisons have 21,000 occupants incarcerated for drug-related offenses out of the state's 70,000 inmates, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. Don't get us wrong, we are not advocating the legalization of street drugs or the coddling of career criminals who peddle poison to our children. But the harsh mandatory sentencing is flat wrong and tends to discriminate against minorities. Pataki's legislative drug plan is yet to be fleshed out, but one aspect would be reducing the sentences of people serving time for possessing at least four ounces of narcotics to a maximum of 10 years to life.
Critics say it sends drug addicts up the river for possession of small amounts of narcotics.
Pataki has called for repeat nonviolent offenders caught with drugs to be eligible for placement in a drug-treatment program for up to 18 months, if prosecutors agree. Upon completion of the program, the charges would be dismissed. Drug sellers would not be eligible. Of course, a proposal is only a proposal. The hard work of reforming the laws begins with persuading the state Legislature that the time has come to get rid of something that just doesn't work and is patently unfair.