Due to the high drug epidemic in the 1960s and 1970s there was a call to change the laws relating to penalties for drug possession. This began as an effort to reduce the sale and use of illicit drugs. This law was known as the Rockefeller drug laws. The law stated that if a person was in possession of four ounces of narcotics the minimum sentence would be fifteen years to life in prison. This was around the same time someone was convicted of second degree murder. This was one of the most abrasive moves in the war on drugs. There were several issues related to these laws; if convicted offenders had been better served in a treatment facility, conviction rates would still have been high but crime would not have decreased and recidivism rates would have increased for nonviolent offenders. In April 2009, the state legislature removed the Rockefeller drug laws. Reform has moved away from mass incarceration toward a public health model. The two key components of this reform were the removal of mandatory minimum sentences and the restoration of judicial discretion to order treatment and rehabilitation as alternatives to incarceration. Since the reform, the legislation has made continuous revisions to the law. He added the removal of prison mandates and created more judicial diversion programs, such as drug courts. Drug courts were initially established in the early 1990s and had a unique style of individual rewards and consequences based on their actions, in hopes of helping them successfully re-enter the community. With that model it leaves a lot of gray areas and is very subjective, stricter laws have subsequently reformed this idea. When judicial power was restored to judges, they were given the power to place clients in dr...... middle of paper ......m reside at Riker's until the court acquits them, which usually happens quickly around time. They must then complete drug programs and in most cases their convictions or charges are lowered. This supports the rehabilitation over punishment model. While working at Riker I can see the emotional strain that parole causes clients. The constant check-ins, meetings here, and drug tests are overwhelming and cumbersome. My clients specifically committed those crimes almost 20 years ago. They are both in their 40s and 50s. My clients have a hard time seeing themselves as adults. Both maintain a drug-free life, but must still appear on probation. They constantly have an authority figure over them dictating their lives. Clients have reported that their parole incidents stem from their resistance to reporting to parole.