"When the [NYS Rockefeller Drug laws] were enacted in 1973, there were 11 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in New York State. After 17 years of enforcement, the murder rate increased to 14.5 homicides per 100,000 New Yorkers. The same trend is seen in robbery rates, another important index crime."
— NYS House Speaker Sheldon Silver, 2009, discussing the effects of the Rockefeller Drug Laws prior to sweeping reforms that changed New York’s drug laws substantially. Those reforms included eliminating mandatory minimum sentence for most (but not all) drug crimes, expanded access to drug treatment, and reducing sentences across the board.
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