NEW WAY TO HELP NARCOTICS OFFENDERS SHOWS GREAT PROMISE

That clapping sound is us, joining cheers for Jimmy Mitchell Godwin,
the first graduate of the county's new "drug court."

And if you notice it's getting louder, that's the second ovation, for
the Cumberland County Drug Treatment Court itself. It's one of the
smarter successes we've seen in the criminal justice system in some time.

Drug court is a new way to combat the drug problem that has so
ravaged our society - and clogged our courts and jails. The
traditional approach is to arrest drug addicts, try and convict them,
and throw them in a jail cell, where they will cost taxpayers a
bundle while they most likely learn a great deal more about living a
productive life of crime.

District Court Judge Kim Tucker, who presides over this county's drug
court, has seen firsthand where the traditional approach leads: "They
still don't have a degree. They still don't have a job. They still
don't have anywhere to live. They still aren't taking care of their
children, and when they get out the only thing they know is what got
them there in the first place and they go right back to that."

That's pretty much where Jimmy Godwin was going in 2004 when he was
arrested. He was addicted to cocaine and financing his habit with the
loot he stole in break-ins. His two kids were taken away from him.
But he landed in Judge Tucker's drug court instead. He got help and
kicked the coke habit. He went back to court every two weeks for a
progress update. He took, and passed, random drug tests. He went to
work and made restitution for his crimes.

And this week, he completed the drug court's three-stage program.
He's graduate No. 1. Next week he starts school at Fayetteville
Technical Community College. He intends to become a drug counselor.

Not everyone has that success. Some get caught using drugs and get
sent back to jail. But others are making the same kind of progress.
And if the program works for even a fraction of drug offenders, it's
a great success on many levels - from the offender to the courts to
the community.

Cheers, all around.