THE CASE FOR DRUG COURT

Jefferson Program Graduates 12 More

After he thanked God yesterday for Jefferson County Drug Court, George
Griffin looked toward a smiling group of circuit and district judges
sitting before him.

"And thank you to the judges," he said. "I've been in front of each
one of you at one time or another."

But instead of prison, Griffin was guided toward Jefferson Drug Court,
where yesterday he was one of 12 joining a group of about 400 people
who have graduated since the first class in 1993.

The hope from Griffin and the judges is that yesterday was another
step that keeps him and other graduates out of court and out of prison.

Griffin did not have to look far for positive reinforcement.

In the back of the auditorium at the old Jefferson County Courthouse
sat a close friend, Monica Walker, who completed the program in 1998.

Walker, a former cocaine addict who said she was in and out of jail 20
times before completing the drug court program, said she is drug-free,
sober, has a job, and has her children and grandchildren back in her
life.

"If it wasn't for this program, I'd probably be out getting high,
homeless" or jailed, she said.

Jefferson County does not keep statistics on the rate that drug-court
graduates fall back into their old ways.

But a University of Kentucky study on drug courts in Bowling Green,
Lexington and Louisville found that only 4percent of graduates were
convicted of a felony again within a year.

Those who dropped out of the program were nearly three times more
likely to be convicted, according to the study.

The average time to complete the Jefferson County program is 18
months, said Ken Wright, the program's treatment director.
Participants are tested for drug use, and those who relapse or miss
therapy can be sent to jail before being readmitted.

When Griffin was approached about drug court, he said he thought
seriously about choosing the penitentiary.

"I still wanted to use," he said in an interview.

"I felt like all I could do was get high and drink for the rest of my
life."

But God's intervention and a "moment of clarity" led him to drug
court, he said.

"This program turned my life around 360 degrees, and I'm truly
grateful for it," he said.

Without it, "I'd probably be dead or in jail or in some kind of
institution," Griffin added. "No doubt about it."