Rockefeller drug laws in New York State

E177652

The Rockefeller drug laws in New York State were a set of notoriously harsh mandatory sentencing statutes enacted in the 1970s that imposed long prison terms for relatively minor drug offenses and became a national symbol of punitive drug policy.

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Rockefeller drug laws in New York State canonical 1

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Predicate Object
instanceOf New York State law
drug sentencing law
mandatory minimum sentencing statute
appliesTo controlled substances
drug offenses
narcotics offenses
appliesToDemographic adult offenders in New York State
appliesToJurisdiction New York
surface form: New York State
country United States of America
surface form: United States
criticizedFor contributing to mass incarceration
lack of proportionality in sentencing
mandatory minimum sentences
racial disparities in enforcement and punishment
describedBySource media as symbol of harsh drug policy
enactedBy New York State Legislature
endTime early 21st century (in original form)
hasEffect disproportionate impact on people of color
growth of New York State prison population
increased incarceration rates
long prison terms for drug offenses
reduced judicial discretion in sentencing
hasPart New York Penal Law
surface form: New York Penal Law Article 220

New York Penal Law
surface form: New York Penal Law Article 221
historicalPeriod 1970s United States drug policy
inception 1973
inspiredBy punitive approach to drug control
legalForm determinate sentencing
mandatory minimum sentence
legalStatus substantially amended
legislativeBody New York State Legislature
location New York
surface form: New York State
mainSubject criminal justice
drug policy
war on drugs
namedAfter Nelson Rockefeller
surface form: Governor Nelson Rockefeller

Nelson Rockefeller
surface form: Nelson A. Rockefeller
notableFor influence on other states’ drug sentencing laws
severity of sentences for nonviolent drug crimes
opposedBy civil rights organizations
criminal justice reform advocates
drug policy reform groups
partOf War on Drugs
surface form: United States war on drugs era policies
penalty 15 years to life imprisonment for certain drug offenses
mandatory prison terms for possession of relatively small amounts of narcotics
promulgatedBy Nelson Rockefeller
surface form: Governor Nelson Rockefeller
reformedIn 2004
2005
2009
replacedBy more flexible drug sentencing framework in New York
startTime 1973

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Nelson Rockefeller notableWork Rockefeller drug laws in New York State