SIX COMPLETE FIRST DRUG COURT GRADUATION

CARTHAGE--The new year is generally a time to start fresh with new
outlooks on life and for six people who recently graduated from the
Eighth Circuit Drug Court, 2008 couldn't be brighter.

The six graduates, many Scott County residents, are proof that you
can succeed in life after a drug conviction.

The six were honored during the court's first graduation held on Dec.
18 in Leake County. Their graduation follows many months of
rehabilitation programs, Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings,
frequent drug testing and intensive judicial supervision.

"These graduations represent a long, hard struggle to gain control of
addictions, both drug and alcohol-related," said Drug Court
Coordinator Marcus Ellis. "They are drug and alcohol-free,
contributing members of society. They are in control of their lives."

The graduates included a surgical technician who recently finished
college, a survey crew chief, a trucker, a father and his daughter
and a grandmother.

John Buckley, the survey crew chief, thanked Judge Cotten, the Drug
Court staff and his boss, who attended the program. "I was lucky with
an employer standing behind me," he said.

The mother of the surgical technician said in a letter to the court
that the Drug Court program opened new opportunities for her
daughter's future.

In addition to the graduates, the Drug Court recognized seven people
who are advancing to the final phase of a year of unsupervised
probation and 16 people who are moving to phase three.

Drug Court Probation Officer Vicky Patrick said she believes Drug
Court is saving lives each and every day.

"You can keep putting people in prison but if you don't rehabilitate
them, it doesn't do any good," Patrick said. "In drug court, you can
give them rehabilitation."

Patrick's job requires administering a lot of "tough love," but the
end result is worth it as drug court participants can finish the
program in as little as three years if they play their cards correctly.

"They earned it," Patrick said about the six graduates. "They stayed
clean and they paid their fines and fees. They did what was asked of
them."

Twenty-three drug courts operate in Mississippi. Fifteen deal with
adult offenders; eight deal with juveniles.

The Eighth Judicial District includes Leake, Neshoba, Newton and
Scott Counties.

Drug courts offer the incentive of a chance to remain out of jail and
the sanction of a jail sentence if participants fail to remain
drug-free and in compliance with all program requirements.

Circuit Judge Vernon Cotten of Carthage formed the program in
December 2003.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Smith Jr., guest
speaker for the Drug Court graduation, said opportunity is knocking
on their doors.

He challenged the graduates to seize the opportunity for a new life,
have vision and set goals for themselves. He told them to keep a
positive attitude and to persevere when the inevitable difficulties
occur again.

"Adversity doesn't break you. It makes you stronger," Chief Justice
Smith said. "If you get knocked down, get right back up. Live your
lives and pursue your dreams and goals and visions and pass them
along to your children."

Drug Court participant Janis Norris, who moved into the fourth and
final phase of the program on Dec. 18, said she is living proof that
the program works.

"If it wasn't for this (program), I wouldn't be standing here. I
would probably be dead," said Norris, who was addicted to crack
cocaine for eight years before she was arrested on a drug possession
charge in 2003.

"This drug court has changed my life. It can change yours too,"
Norris said. "It's all about change. It's all about the choices you
make in your life."

Judge Cotten said the Eighth District Drug Court program has a
success rate of 90 to 95 percent among participants who have been
accepted into the program.

Participants pay for their own treatment, pay for frequent drug
testing, and pay their fines. Since the program was created in
January 2004, the Drug Court has collected $126,681 in fines.

The program has 130 participants. Judge Cotten estimated that if they
were all sitting in prison, it would cost about $2.25 million a year
to house them. That's 10 times the Drug Court's annual budget of
$225,000.

Chief Justice Smith called the drug courts across the state "the
bright, shining star that has proven its worth and value."

Probation Officer Patrick praised drug courts but said that in the
end, success depends on the participants themselves.

"You win some and you lose some," Patrick said. "But as long as you
know they gave 110 percent, that's all we can do."