Second Chances

Friday, they were no longer defendants in front of a judge. They were instead graduating students and proud faculty.

The three Gwinnett County Drug and DUI Court judges had only positive words for the graduates of the latest drug and DUI court session. Although a couple didn’t turn up for the ceremony, most of the 28 participants expected to graduate were on hand to get their diplomas and, in most instances, releases from the terms of their probation.

“It is an intense 18-month program and although some came close to not making it, these graduates here persevered,” said Superior Court Judge William “Billy” Ray, before introducing his group of participants, sharing a little of each of their struggles along the way.

When presenting the diploma to Lindsey Johnson, 25, of Flowery Branch, Ray spoke of how hard she’d had to work, not just in the program but also in life as a worker in a chicken factory. He told of how her addiction had cut short a budding career as a softball player. Johnson, after thanking the officials, said how different her life was now that she was free from her addiction.

“It has completely changed my life. It’s given me a life I never knew I could have,” Johnson said. “It’s changed my relationships – with my family, with everybody. I finally have my life going in the right direction again.”

The two state court judges who participate in Gwinnett’s Drug and DUI Court program, Judge Pamela South and Judge Joseph Iannazzone, followed Ray in sharing the triumphs and struggles of the participants from their courtrooms and thanked the parents and family members who had carried the graduates to and from the required court dates and drug test facilities. In some instances, bikes had been given to participants who'd had their driving privileges suspended to enable them to comply with all the stringent requirements of a drug court sentence.

There were handshakes, hugs and some tears as one by one the graduates received their certificates and thanked the judges, the officials and their families as well as their fellow graduates for helping them succeed. There were men and women from a variety of age groups and a few with interpreters to help them get the message across. But in all instances the message was the same - the program had changed their lives.

“I’ve learned so much here,” said one man through his interpreter. “The education and examples showed us about the harm it does to ourselves and, because of that, to our families. If we can’t love ourselves how can we love anyone else?

He finished by noting that, as a judge, Iannazzone was strict but with a huge heart.

“It begins now,” he said to his fellow graduates.

As keynote speaker, U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Georgia), from the 7th District, asked that those who had gone through the program continue to serve as an example of its success.

“Your success speaks to the success of the program and I can go back to Washington and tell them, ‘don’t let that program go away,’” Woodall said, asking that they speak to anyone who will listen about the program and let people know what it had done for them. “Don’t be ashamed about what has happened in the past – be proud of what you’re going to do in the future.”

May is National Drug Court Month, coordinated on a national level by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. This year, drug and DUI courts throughout the nation are celebrating National Drug Court Month with the theme “Drug Courts: A Proven Budget Solution.” The drug court concept began in Florida more than 20 years ago and is now regarded as the nation’s most successful strategy for dealing with substance abusing offenders. According to Priscilla Woolwine, director of the Gwinnett County treatment court program, it has had a “tremendous impact” on the Gwinnett County community. The recidivism rate through standard probation in Gwinnett is 60 to 70 percent, but is reduced to 15 percent for those who go through the drug court program.