CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE WANTS DRUG COURT FOR FORREST

A little less than two years ago, Noel McElroy faced at least four years in
prison after being arrested in Jackson with crystal meth. Now he's
installing sheetrock for his own business. More importantly, he's sober.

"If drug court wasn't around, I'd probably be in prison, dead or still
drunk," said McElroy, whose drug of choice was alcohol.

The reason McElroy isn't in prison, dead or drunk is the Hinds County Drug
Court, part of the 7th Circuit Court District of Hinds County. Through one
of three circuit court drug courts in the state, McElroy was given the
opportunity to get into treatment and get probation rather than prison time.

"Basically it really saved my life. It gave me a chance to learn about how
to stay sober and about my addiction as an alcoholic without going to
prison," McElroy said.

A drug court looks to be in Forrest County's future. New Circuit Court
Judge Bob Helfrich last week visited the 14th Circuit Court's drug court,
which was the first in the state when it began in 1999.

A drug court could help eliminate the county's case backlog and reduce
crime, he said.

"I talked to the addicts in the program, and they can't say enough good
things about it," Helfrich said about his trip to Brookhaven to see the
court. "To me it's a no brainer to implement it. We've got to have it."

He wants to start it by the end of the year.

The guiding principle behind drug court is that many crimes are caused by
people who are addicted. The court seeks to treat the addiction rather than
run drug suspects through the court system, where they are likely to be
released and commit more crimes.

"Most people don't understand this, but four out of five felony crimes in
this state are a result of drug and alcohol addiction," said 14th Circuit
Court Judge Keith Starrett, who started the state's first drug court. "If
you send people away to the penitentiary with alcohol or drug problems, you
don't address the problem."

More than 300,000 people have gone though drug courts across the country,
according to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. About 70
percent of those graduated without relapsing.

In Starrett's court, 126 of 165 participants have successfully completed
the program.

How it works

When suspects are arrested, they are given the opportunity to take the drug
court route if they are eligible.

Different courts have different eligibility requirements, but violent
offenders aren't offered the drug court option. Starrett does not allow
people accused of residential burglary to enter the program.

The defendant pleads guilty in Starrett's court at the first available date
and is then put in a 42-day in-patient treatment facility. After successful
completion, the defendant goes into a 15-week out-patient program and
reports to Starrett each week.

They are tested each week for a year. After the year, they check in each
month and are tested.

If a defendant relapses in Starrett's court, they are given a weekend in
jail if they admit it or 10 days in jail if they don't and are caught with
the drug test.

In Hinds County, the combination of in-patient and out-patient treatment
lasts one year. The second year defendants are tested once a week, said
Brenda Mathis, program director of the Hinds County drug court.

If there is a relapse, it is the judge's discretion to send the defendant
back through treatment or give him jail time, she said.

McElroy said he wasn't interested in treatment at the time he was arrested.
Mathis, Starrett and others say that a felony arrest is often a catalyst
for defendants to get treatment, but it's not offered in prison.

"I believe if they are not serious when they go into (drug court treatment)
a lot of them change their mind," McElroy said.

Money

When Starrett began his drug court, there was a lot of opposition and
little money.

"They didn't understand it," he said. "The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics
was very much opposed to it. A lot of people had a wait-and-see approach."

He found money in a federal grant that pays $100,000 a year.

But, he said, drug court "saves taxpayers well in excess of $1 million a
year in incarceration costs."

The State Auditor's office said Starrett's drug court costs less than
$5,000 per participant, compared to $16,757 to house an inmate in the state
Department of Corrections.

Hinds County gets a $150,000 annual appropriation from the Mississippi
Legislature.

The drug court in the 4th Circuit Court District operates on $96,000
annually. The money comes from the Mississippi Attorney General's office
and local governments in Leflore and Washington counties.

However the Mississippi Legislature might trump Helfrich's plan. Bills are
being introduced to mandate counties across the state to implement a drug
court.

Sen. Tom King, R-Petal, is a co-author of one of those bills. He said some
of the costs of the program would be paid by the people participating.

But in a legislative session where the state's budget is tight, the program
might pass but have little funding, King said.

"You have got to start somewhere," he said.