Drug court offers a new beginning for Martin man

By: John Brannon Messenger Staff Reporter

By JOHN BRANNON
Messenger Staff Reporter
Josh White of Martin declares that he’ll shave off his goatee before he lets it turn gray.
Not to worry. Old age is a bridge White won’t cross for many years yet to come. He’s only 20 and the hair on his youthful face is a solid jet black.
White was among 30 men and women who attended a joint session of a weekly session of the drug court program available through Tennessee’s 27th Judicial District (Obion and Weakley counties). Attendance is mandatory.
The session convened at 9 a.m. Friday in a small courtroom at the Obion County Law Enforcement Complex. Weakley County General Sessions Judge Tommy Moore presided.
White and his peers sat on church-like oak pews as they were summoned one by one to come to a podium, face the judge, answer questions about recent doings or undoings, and receive praise or punishment.
White stood at the podium as Moore scanned a copy of his record of performance since he entered the “rehab” program on June 7, 2006.
“You’ve been in the program so long, your goatee is going to turn gray,” Moore said with a grin.
That’s when White said what he did about shaving it off.
Truth is, Moore was being complimentary of White. He told the courtroom crowd that White is on Step 11 of the court’s 12-step program of rehabilitation and that the young man has been “clean and sober” 493 days. He expressed his compliments further and led the crowd in a round of applause for White.
New beginning
White applied and was approved for the drug court program after being convicted in Weakley County of vandalism and burglary charges that drew a four-year prison sentence.
Diversion into the program kept him out of prison — as long as he complies with the dictates of treatment, obeys hard and fast rules, and keeps his nose clean.
He is scheduled to graduate from the program in the near future but wants to remain in it two more months if the court will let him.
“It’s helped me a lot,” he said of the program.
His drug of choice? Marijuana. He said he started using it when he was 12 years old.
“I went to school stoned lots of times,” he told The Messenger. “I got it mostly from friends, but I didn’t really ask questions. If they had it. I took it.’”
He said he did the vandalism “out of boredom” and the burglary to support his drug habit.
But all that is in his past, he said. “Drug court has given me a new beginning.”
Guest speakers
White’s success story is augmented by those of three others in the program — Jeff Roberson, Hoss Kaley and Jeremy Essary. The three men were guest speak- ers Friday at a weekly meeting of the Union City Rotary Club at the Hampton Centre.
“It was the first time any of them had done any public speaking. They told about themselves and the program, and there was a question and answer session afterwards. I was very impressed by them,” said Rotarian Julius Falkoff of Union City.
Annual report
The spotlight of good news in the war on drug abuse coincides with an Oct. 4 report by Dr. Deborah Gibson of the University of Tennessee at Martin about the 27th Judicial District’s drug court program.
The report was distributed to Circuit Judge Bill Acree Jr., who oversees the program, and other members of the program’s steering committee.
A cover letter states that as of December 2007, the program will have been in operation five years. In that period, 130 people have participated and 50 have successfully completed the program. The average number of days between enrollment and graduation is 459.
“We have from 30 to 40 people in the program at any given time,” the letter states. “Financially, the drug court is self-sustaining, and we are no longer dependent upon a federal grant.”
Acree said the program’s retention rate is over 60 percent, “which is very good.”
“That means that people who come into the program, better than 60 percent of them are able to stay in it,” he said. “Other forms of (drug abuse) treatment, the retention rate runs about five percent, on a national basis.”
In its first four years, the program was partially funded by a federal grant, which financed about 75 percent of expenses. But now it’s self-sustaining, aided by state funds and a fee each participant pays the court.
“We also receive part of DUI fines and fines levied on all drug offenses,” Acree said. “Also, — and for this we are very thankful and appreciative — Obion County appropriates $20,000.”
High cost of crime
Acree said the cost of crime to taxpayers is very substantial. People with drug problems often resort to crime to support their habit. “You put somebody in jail, it costs $50 a day. Drug court is $10 a day. That’s quite a savings,” he said. “And of course, when they graduate, you don’t have any more costs.
When someone does a turnaround, it affects society as a whole, in a positive way. “They quit committing crimes to support their habits. They become good citizens — support their families, pay taxes, all the things we all must do,” he said.
Congress has restored federal funds to the budget for drug courts, $44 million for the whole country, he added. But the local program won’t receive any of those funds. “Besides, $44 million nationwide won’t go very far,” he said.
Biggest problem
Dr. Johnny Welch, therapist and counselor to participants, said the biggest problem encountered in his ministry is drug addiction.
“People who are in it have less access to resources than you and I,” he said. “They’ve burned a lot of bridges — divorces, families split up, jobs lost. Probably, the single biggest thing is when they start a criminally addictive lifestyle. They get in deep and before long, they’re behind the eight-ball.”
And while there have been both successes and failures among those who have entered the program, it is still a worthwhile venture, Welch added.
“I’m glad to be associated with it. I’m very happy when we make a positive difference in these people’s lives.”
Some statistics
Dr. Gibson’s report contains these and other statistics:
• As of June 30, 2006, there were 45 drug courts in 53 Tennessee counties.
• Since the local program was established in December 2002, there have been 61 separate occasions in which participants were placed in either the Obion or Weakley County jail. They spent a total of 1,124 days in jail, of which 814 were for sanctions (punishment) and 214 for conviction on new charges.
• The 27th Judicial District Drug Court program is funded to serve 40 participants at any one time.
• Thus far, a total of 50 have graduated and 48 terminated from the program. Those terminated are remanded to state prison to begin serving a sentence already imposed for conviction of crimes committed prior to being allowed into the program.
• All 2006-07 graduates were employed, working at least 32 hours a week. Five were employed by the same employer at least six months prior to graduation.
• All participants who are required to pay child support do so. A total of $8,064 in child support payments were collected during the fiscal year. Also, $3,265 court-ordered costs were paid.
• Cocaine was listed as the most popular drug of choice — 58 percent — by drug court participants in fiscal year 2006-07. In FY 2005-06, methamphetamine was the drug of choice.
Police…
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inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds, with black hair with gray ends and a tan complexion. At the time, the man was reported to be wearing a green ball cap, tan button-down shirt with “Martin” inside a circle on the left chest and blue jeans. The victim said the man left in a late-model white Ford Ranger extended cab pickup truck.
Anyone who has any information about the suspect may contact the Martin Police Department at (731) 587-5355 or their local law enforcement agency. Published in The Messenger 10.18.07

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