DRUG COURT GIVES USERS FRESH START, SAVES PRISON COSTS

Angela Chapman, who got her first drug high at age 14, did more than
complete the 13th Judicial Circuit Adult Drug Court on Thursday.

She said she took one giant step forward, something she said she's never
experienced.

"I had lost everything," Chapman said. "I lost my home, my children, my
self-esteem."

Chapman said something finally clicked after decades of abusing drugs.

"I wasn't willing to do what I had to do," she said.

Now, Chapman, employed in a pizza shop, said she's got her daughter,
Jessica, 15, back. Now she's trying to get her son, 8, returned.

Chapman and four others completed an intensive 18-month Drug Court program,
which includes counseling. Participants enter a plea and avoid prison by
going into the program.

A ceremony was held in the courtroom of Adult Drug Court Judge Charles W.
Simmons, who approves who can participate.

Completing drug court is no small feat, said Simmons. Chapman and other
graduates had paid almost $70,000 in fines and restitution -- their debt to
society, Simmons said.

"You have faced Goliath," Simmons said to graduates. "After David defeated
Goliath, the battle didn't end."

Since 13th Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail began Drug Court in 1998, 47
percent of the 200 people enrolled in it have completed it, said Bobbie
Godwin, who manages the project for Ariail.

Godwin said taxpayers have saved the high cost of incarceration.

There are 1,183 drug courts operating across the country, Godwin said.

"Those of us who serve in the program think it's justice at its best,"
Godwin said.

Chapman, now 42, said her turnabout, which includes drug tests three times
a week, was probably one of the toughest things she's ever done.

"I was facing 25 years," she said.

As Chapman renews the relationship with her daughter, she'll add a yellow
rubber duck to her household as well.

The duck, wearing sunglasses, symbolizes the importance of always
remembering you're an addict and always in recovery, according to a
statement that goes with the duck.

Ariail said Drug Court got off to an uncertain start.

"We weren't sure what we were going to get out of it," he said. "We now
know it's a good program."