The change in leadership at the New York state level seems poised to make a dramatic change to the state's Rockefeller Drug Laws.
Brett Story
Hundreds of New Yorkers rallied in front of Gov. David Paterson’s office March 25 to urge the repeal of Rockefeller Drug Laws. Instituted in the 1970s, the laws dole out mandatory sentences for minor infractions and disproportionately affect communities of color, 90 percent of those jailed under its auspices are black or Latino.
As a state senator Governor Paterson vocally criticized the laws and The Nation reported early in his term his administration’s focus on overturning them.
The New York Times reports that along with the Democratic state assembly and senate, Governor Paterson has reached an agreement to dismantle the drug laws.
—Gabriela Resto-Montero
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Brett StoryBrett Story is a freelance journalist and independent documentary filmmaker based out of Montreal, and a 2008 spring intern for The Nation.