Pubdate: Sat, 29 Sep 2007
Source: Mississippi Press, The (MS)
Copyright: 2007 Mississippi Press
Contact:  http://www.gulflive.com/mississippipress/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2254
Author: Veto F. Roley, The Mississippi Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

TWELVE GRADUATE FROM JACKSON COUNTY DRUG COURT

PASCAGOULA -- It could have ended much worse for the 12  graduates of
drug court Thursday night.

Instead of having their names read as graduating from  the program,
the 12 could be spending long stretches in  prison, or they could be
dead.

"It saved my life," graduate David Lyda said. "Drugs  made me lose
everything I ever had -- my relationships,  my possessions,
everything."

Lyda said he was arrested twice for manufacturing  methamphetamine,
which got him into the drug court.

At the time of his arrest, Lyda said he wanted to be  free of drugs,
"but I did not see it happening. I was  looking for a way to get out.
Getting caught was the  best thing that happened to me. I wouldn't be
free from  drugs if I hadn't been caught."

Lyda said the program gave him the discipline and  structure he needed
to break loose from his addiction.

And, that is the purpose of drug court District  Attorney Tony
Lawrence said. "This program takes people  who are addicts and helps
them overcome their  problems," he said.

Lawrence said the program is for people whose drug use  has caused
them to commit some type of non-violent  crime, such as theft or drug
possession. He said the  program allows them to turn their lives
around without  having to go to prison.

"It is an alternative to prison," Lawrence said. And,  he said more
than 95 percent of drug court graduates  remaining free from trouble.

"It is one of the best programs I've seen in dealing  with drug
addicts," Circuit Court Judge Dale Harkey  said.

Harkey said the alternative is warehousing drug addicts  in prison.
Drug court, he said, identifies those who  could turn their lives
around and gives them a second  chance.

Circuit Court Judge Kathy King Jackson originally  started drug court
five years ago in George County. Two  years later, she brought the
concept to Jackson County.  Soon Harkey and Circuit Court Judge Robert
Krebs had  their own drug court programs.

According to a press release put out by the 19th  Judicial Circuit,
which includes Jackson, George and  Greene counties, the district has
204 participants in  drug court, which makes it the largest program in
the  state.
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