New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. issued the following statement today concerning Governor Paterson’s signing into law reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws:

“This is an historic event.  The excessively punitive and inequitable Rockefeller Laws have destroyed too many lives. 

Study after study has demonstrated that for low-level offenders, treatment reduces recidivism, offering pathways towards lawful and productive futures which in turn can help reduce our prison population and allow law enforcement to focus on more significant crime. And, giving our judges the freedom of discretion to weigh each case individually and offer alternatives to incarceration where appropriate injects necessary respect for the bench and for all those who come before it.”

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