The Norman Transcript

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November 10, 2009

Keeping 'em sober and out of prison

By Meghan McCormick

Drug court is often the last stop for addicts who need help getting sober. The next stop is usually the penitentiary.

"We get them just before they go to the penitentiary most of the time," District Judge Tom A Lucas told members of the League of Women Voters of Norman Monday at an Olive Garden luncheon.

The Oklahoma Drug Court Program was introduced to Cleveland County in 2001 as an alternative to incarcerating drug and alcohol offenders.

The program is not restricted to drug abusers, with alcoholics and drug abusers participating.

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services coordinates the Oklahoma Drug Court Program.

"I'm very pleased with drug court," Lucas said. "I think it's a great alternative to incarceration."

Offenders age 20 to 60 are screened and enrolled in drug court. Participants have to petition and pass through five stages in order to graduate.

Lucas brought with him a handful of letters accompanied with petitions.

"The letters are the most moving aspect of drug court," Lucas said.

He read aloud a letter from a woman who graduated from the Oklahoma Drug Court Program. The woman, a mother of two sons, had lost custody of her children. Both of their fathers were deceased.

"If I went to the Department of Corrections, they wouldn't have any parents," Lucas read from the letter. "The drug court program has changed my life for the better."

Those enrolled in drug court must make a court appearance once a week. However, that is not the only requirement, Lucas said.

Drug court members cannot leave the county without permission from the court system, he said. Each participant has a curfew in the evening.

"Their lives are pretty well micro managed by us," he said. "They object at first."

Lucas said as time progresses, the rules change a person's habit.

Participants also attend support meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous and perform community service.

In eight years, drug court members have accumulated 27,140 hours of community service.

Lucas said the drug court program makes economic sense for the state.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse services, it costs the Oklahoma Department of Corrections about $19,000 a year to house an inmate compared to $5,000 that it takes for a person to attend drug court.

Current statistics show 23.5 percent of drug court graduates are re-arrested.

Phoebe Schmitz, president of the League of Women Voters of Norman, said the organization is interested in the criminal justice program and drug court. The League of Woman Voters meets about once a month.

Schmitz said the group was ready to learn more about drug court.

"It's an alternative to incarceration," she said. "We feel it's an important thing to do."

Meghan McCormick 366-3539 mmccormick@normantranscript.com

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