Aborn Repudiates District Attorneys on Rockefeller Drug Law Reform
NEW YORK-Manhattan DA candidate Richard Aborn today released the following statement in response to a press conference held by seven New York State district attorneys condemning the passage of historic reform of the Rockefeller drug laws:
“I joined many in pushing to replace the draconian and racially discriminatory mandatory-minimum sentences of the Rockefeller Drug Laws with judicial discretion to divert non-violent, low-level drug offenders into treatment programs rather than sentencing them to state prison. As a former prosecutor of violent crimes and candidate for Manhattan DA, I believe that it is long past time we start addressing substance abuse as a public health problem.
“The simple, indisputable fact is that non-violent individuals with substance abuse problems benefit much more from treatment than prison—ending the cycle of drug abuse, dependency and crime and strengthening families and communities. Moreover, reforming the Rockefeller drug laws allows the criminal justice system to devote scarce resources to fighting violent crime and prosecuting high-level drug kingpins and organized crime.”
In Albany today, NYSDA’s President, Staten Island DA Dan Donovan, and seven other prosecutors held a press conference to condemn the historic drug law reforms passed recently by the legislature.
Aborn, a former prosecutor under retiring Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau, is a Democratic candidate for that office. He has been endorsed by former NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton, 15 of the 18 elected officials who have endorsed a candidate in the race, and the most political clubs.
An op-ed written by Aborn on the issue of drug law reform can be read here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-aborn/embrace-the-possible-a-ne_b_196161.html
