PASEUR SAYS JAIL NOT ALWAYS ANSWER IN WAR ON DRUGS

The state is losing the war on drugs, and stiffer penalties are not
the answer, according to a candidate for the state Court of Criminal Appeals.

Democrat Deborah Paseur, a district judge in Lauderdale County, helps
run the drug court there. The effort, which uses innovative
approaches to try to help defendants get off drugs without sitting in
jail, is a step in the right direction, she said.

"The goal is to help these people get good recoveries and become good
citizens," Paseur said in a recent editorial board meeting at THE
DAILY. "People not trained in the drug-court philosophy don't understand it."

Not only are prisons full, Paseur said, they are not always the best answer.

"We don't do enough treatment in prisons," Paseur said. "We don't
have enough transition programs. You can't expect people to do a lot
better without those."

She said community corrections programs are the best solution for
many nonviolent offenders. Sending people away from the community to
prison often means they come back to the community as hardened criminals.

"Trial judges have to carefully decide who goes to the limited prison
cells we have," Paseur said. "We need to ask, 'Does this particular
offender need to be in jail?' People should be given the least
restrictive punishment that will work."

That said, the punishment must meet the goals of the criminal justice
system: rehabilitation, punishment, retribution and restitution.

"Those goals are not met," Paseur said, "if a judge is too lenient. .
Our No. 1 job is protection of society."

Paseur said she does not impose her religious beliefs on offenders,
but her faith constantly guides her in her duties.

She is a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Florence and is
active in the Emmaus Walk program.

"Every human life is sacred and valuable. Every person is one of
God's children," she said. "No one should strip them of their dignity."

'Chewing-Out'

She said she often gives offenders an "old-fashioned chewing-out,"
but never humiliates them. That approach, together with careful
sentencing, sometimes helps offenders find a better way of life.

"I've had people say I saved their lives," she said. "That's a
humbling experience, that God has used me for that. ... I believe in
miracles. Once in awhile we have one."

Paseur, who has served four terms as district judge, is a past
president of the Alabama District Judges Association. She was a
founding member of Safeplace, a domestic violence shelter, and Big
Brothers Big Sisters of the Shoals.

Paseur will oppose Republican Judge Sam Welch in November.

Paseur, hitting the campaign trail hard, was tired.

"I have a sincere desire to serve the people of Alabama in this
position," she said. "That's why I'm killing myself to get it."