Will a Person Convicted on His Second Felony Be Sent to Prison?

Question by lorkell: Will a person convicted on his second felony be sent to prison?
What are the laws for ny state for felony on drug possession and so forth? and why doesn’t the system provide a better and manditory drug rehab for convicted felons instead of just throwing them away? we, the tax payers have to pay for them to sit in prison, why not put our money into trying to correct the problem? Prison makes the problem worse!

Best answer:

Answer by greyhound6375
I spent ten years in prison. From what I’ve seen, rehab only works if the user is fed up with their mistakes and truly is ready for change. Most rehab doesn’t work. That said, in Virginia, drug rehab is the majority of the programs budget for prison, so there is quite a lot being done to try to help addicts.

Answer by micjochris
Most drug offenders who are sent to prison are either convicted of Class B offenses (e.g. the sale of any amount of cocaine, regardless of how small) or are second felony offenders convicted of offenses in Classes B-E. The Drug Law Reform Act commendably expands the sentencing options for a first-time Class B offense to include a split sentence of prison and probation. But the lowest sentence that could be imposed on a second felony offender convicted of a Class B felony is a sentence of two and one-half to five years in prison, unless the offender is eligible for diversion to a substance abuse treatment program. In many cases, such a prison sentence would be excessive, yet the Act does not permit a shorter sentence. Nor does it permit alternatives to incarceration for offenders who are not addicted and do not qualify for substance abuse treatment programs.

If mandatory prison terms are to be retained, the Act should be amended to further reduce the minimum sentences, giving judges a wider sentencing range from which to select the appropriate sentence.