Pubdate: Sat, 28 Jun 2003
Source: Hartford Courant (CT)
Copyright: 2003 The Hartford Courant
Contact:  http://www.ctnow.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183
Author: Associated Press

PRISONERS IN TREATMENT: 'DO IT NOW OR DIE'

NIANTIC, Conn. -- When Cheryl Ann Miller, a 47-year-old mother of four, 
awoke from a drunken stupor one October day in 2000, she learned she'd just 
caused a car crash.

She didn't even remember getting into the car.

The crash caused only minor injuries, but it was the Danbury woman's second 
offense. She had injured an elderly man in a drunken accident several years 
before.

On Nov. 15, 2001, a judge sentenced her to 26 months at York Correctional 
Institution here.

Shortly after arriving Miller applied for admission to the Marilyn Baker 
House, an 82-bed substance abuse treatment ward on the prison grounds. She 
moved there in February 2002 and now serves as the program's senior peer 
mentor, helping new residents conquer their addictions.

The Marilyn Barker House opened its doors about 11 years ago. Named for a 
former inmate who overcame addiction then helped others do the same, the 
program initially could only take 32 drug-or alcohol-addicted women at York.

In January 1995 the six-month program - which has a three-to 12-month 
aftercare component - expanded its capacity after moving into a former 
mental health wing.

Proponents of more treatment for prisoners with addictions point to 
programs like Baker House as proof that such programs reduce recidivism.

A 1996 study by Central Connecticut State University found that a group of 
inmates who completed the Baker program were 64 percent less likely to 
return to prison in the year after release than those with similar 
addictions who did not participate.

Miller, who entered drug rehabilitation programs outside prison twice 
before, said her experience at the Baker House has been transforming.

"This is the first time in my life, take me as I am or don't take me at 
all," she said.

Baker House deals with the psychological problems that contribute to 
Miller's chemical dependency, said Bob Carini, 51, who oversees the unit. 
Because of that approach, Miller's long-term prospects for recovery - and a 
life free of crime - are significantly improved, he said.

"If you lock a person up, you're not dealing with the addiction," Carini 
said. "It's just dormant."

At Lebanon Pines, private drug treatment center in Lebanon, counselor Gerry 
Egan would once have had a list of more than 40 prisoners seeking beds. The 
waiting list right now stands at 14.

The number has fallen not because there are fewer drug-abusers awaiting 
trial in prison. Rather, Egan said, it's because the state discontinued its 
jail re-interview program and laid off the six bail commissioners who ran it.

The commissioners would interview defendants to determine whether community 
release before trial would be appropriate. If so, judges could modify the 
defendants' bonds and replace them with special supervision programs such 
as the one at Lebanon Pines.

Judges still have that authority, but no bail commissioners are assigned to 
refer inmates to the court.

David Markie, 40, of East Hartford, entered Lebanon Pines on June 9; the 
Judicial Branch referred him to the program before the jail re-interview 
effort was discontinued. It's his second visit to the center for alcohol 
and cocaine addictions.

Police arrested him seven months ago for stabbing his girlfriend in the 
stomach during a drunken blackout. Unable to post a $250,000 bond, he spent 
six months in prison before he went to the treatment center.

While it's unclear whether he will eventually go to prison, Markie said his 
first concern now is maintaining sobriety.

"It's either do it now," he said, "or die."
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