Very Tough Love - a drug court gone wild - This American Life

[BridgeTheGap]

Part One.

Ira reports from Glynn County Georgia on Superior Court Judge Amanda Williams and how she runs the drug courts in Glynn, Camden and Wayne counties. We hear the story of Lindsey Dills, who forges two checks on her parents' checking account when she's 17, one for $40 and one for $60, and ends up in drug court for five and a half years, including 14 months behind bars, and then she serves another five years after that—six months of it in Arrendale State Prison, the other four and a half on probation. The average drug court program in the U.S. lasts 15 months. But one main way that Judge Williams' drug court is different from most is how punitive it is. Such long jail sentences are contrary to the philosophy of drug court, as well as the guidelines of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. For violating drug court rules, Lindsey not only does jail terms of 51 days, 90 days and 104 days, Judge Williams sends her on what she calls an "indefinite sentence," where she did not specify when Lindsey would get out. (30 minutes)
Part Two.

We hear about how Brandi Byrd and many other offenders end up in Judge Williams' drug court. One reason drug courts were created was to save money by incarcerating fewer people. But in Judge Williams' program, people like Brandi end up in drug court—at a cost of $350 per month—who would've simply gotten probation in most other Georgia counties. When offenders like Brandi are kicked out of the program—and half of participants in Judge Williams' drug court program don't successfully complete it—they go into detention, at a cost of $17,000 per year. Brandi did two years.

We also hear how one model drug court participant, Charlie McCullough, was treated by Judge Williams.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/430/very-tough-love

[hlthe2b]

1. I heard this piece this weekend and am appalled...

though not surprised. From what I have reason to believe, this is not an isolated incident--in terms of abuse of power among judges in Georgia.

[BridgeTheGap]

2. Fortunately, someone is running against her. Might be time to donate! n.t

[DZBrito]

3. Report: "Drug Courts Are Not The Answer," by Drug Policy Alliance

I really recommend, if you are interested in this story, that you go here: http://www.drugpolicy.org/library/drugcourts.cfm to see an excellent report from Drug Policy Alliance outlining the overall problems with the Drug Court model, the iceberg of which Glynn County is only the tip:

"Drug Courts are Not the Answer finds that drug courts are an ineffective and inappropriate response to drug law violations. Many, all the way up to the Obama administration, consider the continued proliferation of drug courts to be a viable solution to the problem of mass arrests and incarceration of people who use drugs. Yet this report finds that drug courts do not reduce incarceration, do not improve public safety, and do not save money when compared to the wholly punitive model they seek to replace. The report calls for reducing the role of the criminal justice system in responding to drug use by expanding demonstrated health approaches, including harm reduction and drug treatment, and by working toward the removal of criminal penalties for drug use."

[kenichol]

4. Excellent resource

"Drug Courts Leave Many People Worse Off for Trying

The widespread use of incarceration – for failing a drug test, missing
an appointment or being a "knucklehead" – means that some participants end
up serving more time behind bars than if they had not entered drug court.
Indeed, some participants deemed "failures" may actually face longer
sentences than those who did not enter drug court in the first place (often
because they lost the opportunity to plead to a lesser charge). Even those
not in drug court may be negatively affected by them, since drug courts may
encourage law enforcement and others to arrest people believing they will
"get help," but because drug courts have limited capacity and strict
eligibility requirements many people arrested end up conventionally
sentenced.
... Reserve drug courts for cases involving offenses against person or
property, while providing other options such as probation, drug treatment or
both for people arrested for low-level drug law violations;
Work toward removing criminal penalties for drug use to reduce mass drug
arrests and incarceration.
Bolster public health systems, including harm reduction and drug
treatment programs, to more effectively and cost-effectively help people
with drug problems outside of the criminal justice system..."

For the rest of the article:
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/pressroom/pressrelease/pr033011.cfm