SALLISAW MAN WANTS DRUG COURT FOR TROUBLED VETS

A Sallisaw man who served several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan has
seen how war can ravage the soldiers fighting for their country, not
only while they are on the frontlines, but also when they return home.

John Bennett, who spent 15 years as an active duty U.S. Marine and is
currently in the reserves, is now trying to help soldiers who find
themselves in trouble with the law once they return home. He said once
some soldiers return home they have trouble adjusting to life outside
of war.

While many can easily integrate back into their old lives, other
soldiers may suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and
depression. To cope, some may turn to alcohol or drugs, which can lead
to crime, Bennett said.

Even though many of these soldiers spent years fighting for their
country, once in the court system, war veterans are treated like
everyone else - a fact that Bennett is hoping to change in Oklahoma
and across the country with a court system specifically for veterans.

Instead of a traditional court system, Bennett hopes veterans who get
in trouble will have a court system customized for them that promotes
rehabilitation and treatment. The program would provide veterans with
mentoring, monitoring and a second chance.

Bennett suffered a traumatic brain injury in his last tour of Iraq and
is considered a disabled veteran, he said. He also has several friends
affected by PTSD and from trauma in combat.

"It really changes people," Bennett said.

He said many soldiers coming home are scared to get help or see the
stigma from seeking help.

"They self-medicate," Bennett said. "I did it too."

He said many drink alcohol to try to help with their problems. Some
are having nightmares from what they have seen in war. Alcohol can
lead to other things, such as drug abuse.

"That always leads to some kind of crime," Bennett said of
drugs.

Bennett is quick to point out the veterans court would not be a "get
out of jail free card." He estimated that the majority of those
veterans getting in trouble haven't been in trouble before. Some are
being arrested for driving under the influence or drug crimes.

"Give them the opportunity to fix themselves," Bennett is asking
through the program. He said once they do they can help and contribute
to society again.

For those who have never been in trouble before, they may think their
life is over and turn bitter.

"They think, 'I go to war for my country and this is how they treat
me,'" Bennett said. "Give them a second chance."

Mission

Bennett started his personal mission for a veterans drug court in
Oklahoma in July after seeing that New York began a veterans court.

"Fortunately for me, they went through a lot of trial and error," he
said of the New York program.

He mirrored the New York program, tweaking it to the Oklahoma courts
system, and took his idea to the Tulsa mayor's office. Bennett works
out of the FBI in Tulsa. He previously worked for the Sequoyah County
Sheriff's Office and worked with Tulsa authorities in fighting illegal
immigration. He said he knew there are a large number of veterans in
Tulsa and knew people in the court so he started there.

Bennett met with mayor's office representatives, and they got together
with Veterans Affairs (VA) and started a pilot veterans drug court
program in the Tulsa County court system.

He said the veterans court is built off drug courts and mental health
courts that are already in place.

The VA's involvement is crucial. For vets in trouble, a judge will put
them on a treatment plan and they could go through the VA for
treatment and help.

Bennett envisions veterans being assigned a mentor to guide them
through the court, which he said would be a working court instead of
one that is adversarial. The judge presiding over the veterans court
would track veterans progress, and the VA could pull data on veterans
for the judge and monitor veterans in trouble.

While in a treatment program, soldiers would be drug-tested and
receive mental health treatment. Troubled veterans would have to meet
specific criteria to participate in the veterans court, such as not
having committed a violent crime.

According to a manual about the court proposal, the program mission is
to provide a means to successfully habilitate veterans by providing
them with the tools they need to lead productive and law-abiding lives.

Bennett is currently in the process of talking to legislators and
getting support for a program locally, across the state, and even in
Arkansas.

In the long term, Bennett would like to see veterans courts started
across the entire United States.

"It's going to take federal laws and legislation to make a
standardized program across the U.S.," Bennett said.

Oklahoma is the fourth state in the U.S. to go forward with a veterans
drug court, Bennett said, pointing to the Tulsa pilot program. Other
states who have such courts are New York, Minnesota, and California.

Bennett said he plans to send information packets to Sequoyah County
District Attorney Jerry Moore and Sheldon Sperling, U.S. Attorney for
the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

He is asking citizens to contact their legislators if they support
such a program locally.

"I'm saying this from experience. They train us for years and years to
send us to war," he said. "We're not doing a whole lot for when they
come home."

Judge Weighs In

Sequoyah County Special District Judge Dennis Sprouse, who oversees
the Sequoyah County Drug Court, said while he can't think of any
veterans he has had in drug court over the years, he has encountered
veterans during his career. He said most of those veterans' crimes are
drug-related and relate to the veterans' service.

While Sprouse has not been approached by Bennett about a veterans drug
court, Sprouse said, "I certainly understand the concept and the
reasoning behind it."

He said in drug court some people have co-concurring disorders,
meaning they may have a drug problem and a mental health disorder. He
noted because of privacy laws, that is not openly discussed.

Many times, Sprouse encounters people who are not only drug addicts
but have underlying dysfunctions because of mental health issues and
they were self-medicating.

"In what we do here, I see that," he said.

Sprouse indicated that if the veterans court is addressing the
underlying issue, like PTSD, they would be not just treating the
symptom, but the real issue.

"I could see the benefit," he said, adding that a veterans court could
be tied to federal money in order to get veterans treatment.

Sprouse said in Sequoyah County he doesn't know if the need justifies
the funding. But Sprouse could see it working from a regional
standpoint for rural areas, in which three to five counties could come
together to support a court that was specialized.