Pubdate: Tue, 15 Mar 2005
Source: Town Talk, The  (Alexandria, LA)
Copyright: 2005sThe Town Talk
Contact:  http://www.thetowntalk.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1027
Author: Mandy M. Goodnight

DRUG COURTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The first taste of drugs came at 13, and for 26 years, it was a constant 
battle. But at age 39, the Alexandria woman has been clean for 11 months.

"I can see things a whole lot clearer," the woman said. She credits, in 
part, the Rapides Parish Adult Drug Court.

Since 1997, the court/treatment program has helped hundreds of people get 
off drugs and get back their lives. Now, the 9th Judicial District Court 
program hopes to expand. The parish also has a separate juvenile drug court.

Judge Thomas Yeager is eyeing a new Washington Street location, which would 
free up funds and give the program more space for treatment services, such 
as group and individual counseling sessions.

That's an expansion many say is needed to continue tackling the rising 
number of drug abusers that pass through the parish court system. "The more 
people that he (Yeager) can accommodate the better," said Rapides Parish 
Assistant District Attorney Loren Lampert. "The drug-court program is a 
welcome change over standard probation and incarceration to get people with 
drug addictions help."

In 2001, the Rapides Parish District Attorney's Office handled about 1,534 
felony drug cases. By the end of 2005, the office projects that number to 
more than double.

In the first three months, 612 drug cases have come across the desks of the 
assistant district attorneys. This doesn't include misdemeanor drug cases. 
There are two prosecutors assigned to 95 percent of the felony drug cases.

Tenth Judicial District Judge Rick Harrington was shocked at the number of 
drug cases coming through Natchitoches Parish.

He said an estimated 80 percent of felony crimes in the parish are 
drug-related, so he sought funds to open the parish's drug court. It began 
in September, so it is too early to gauge any results.

"Drugs are out there," Yeager said. "The drug court is one step in helping 
to clean up our communities."

Some national studies have five-year post graduation success -- no drug 
relapse and no more arrests -- as high as 85 percent while others have it 
lower. Most national studies agree that drug courts reduce the likelihood 
of a person getting arrested again or taking drugs.

In Louisiana, less than 6 percent of drug-court graduates are rearrested in 
the year following their graduation, according to the Louisiana Supreme 
Court, which oversees the state's 39 adult and juvenile drug courts.

The Department of Corrections estimates 70 percent of people placed on 
regular probation return to prison.

There are four adult drug courts in Cenla -- Rapides, Sabine/Desoto, Vernon 
and Natchitoches parishes -- and two juvenile drug courts in Rapides and 
Concordia/Catahoula parishes.

For area adult courts, participants have been convicted of a drug offense 
or drug-related charge. It is only for crimes that allow a sentence of 
probation for the convicted person. Referrals to the drug court come from 
probation officers and lawyers. If not in drug court, a violation of 
probation, such as drug use, can send a person back to prison for their 
full sentence.

Once in drug court, it is a treatment program, but the judge has the right 
to send a participant back to jail for lapses or lack of participation. 
Participants can be dropped from the program, and graduation depends on the 
person's progress.

On Thursday in Rapides Parish adult drug court, one young man learned a 
lesson about the punishment. He had not followed the rules of the program, 
so Yeager ordered him to serve 30 days in jail.

On the spot, a bailiff handcuffed him and didn't allow him to even hug a 
woman who had escorted him to court.

"He is tough," one drug court participant said in reference to Yeager.

Not all cases ended that way. Many of the participants told stories of success.

Sitting like a father figure on the bench, Yeager congratulated people who 
stood in front of him, as well as chided them for their mistakes.

A mother of four stood before him with one of her children perched on her 
hip. Yeager warned her to ask for help in dealing with the stress of having 
to care for four children.

The Alexandria mother had gotten custody of her children and had been drug 
free for 13 months. Before drug court, the 27-year-old was using and 
selling drugs.

Participants brought their children for Yeager to see or artwork they had 
done. They talked of the jobs that they had gotten and the strides they had 
made in counseling.

A 31-year-old Alexandria man once addicted to marijuana hasn't used the 
drug in 18 months. He soon will graduate from drug court and plans to work 
offshore.

"I didn't think I was going to make it when I first started," he said. "But 
it was something I had to do. Drug court has helped me to stay clean."

Yeager said even if a person doesn't graduate from drug court, they receive 
education on making positive choices and how they can turn their lives around.

Success is not limited to Rapides Parish. Already, Seventh Judicial 
District Judge Kathy Johnson has seen results.

The Concordia/Catahoula parish judge opened the parishes' juvenile drug 
court in January 2004. Her first participants graduated this month.

"To see where they have come when I first had them stand before me is 
amazing," she said.

Two of the graduates are getting a GED and another has a job lined up to 
work on a riverboat: Things they wouldn't have done if they had stayed on 
drugs, she said.

Eleventh Judicial District Judge Robert Burgess said there is no good 
reason for the participants to be in drug court except to put their lives 
back on track. Burgess serves DeSoto and Sabine parishes.

He said the parishes' adult drug courts, which have operated for five 
years, works when it works. A letter from a former participants shows 
Burgess just how much the program works.

Kelly Thurmon of Sabine Parish attempted to commit suicide during a drug 
relapse. She said drug court didn't give up on her, and she has been clean 
for more than two years.

"When I first entered your program, like most people, I lived a crazy life 
that I could not manage," she wrote.

Thurmon said Friday that she was addicted to prescription drugs. After 
taking them for an injury, she became hooked. The former nurse knew how to 
call in her own prescriptions and thought she wouldn't get caught.

Once caught, she said, drug court taught her that she could live without 
drugs and she has been able to apply the lessons taught in drug court to 
her own life.

Now, she has seen her son for the first time in four years. She lost 
custody after a drug arrest.

"I don't think I could have made it without the drug-court program," she 
said. "I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and had to make a 
change. They helped me do that."
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