PITTMAN: DRUG COURT A MODEL FOR STATE

MAGNOLIA - Jan Kincade used to pretend she was a doctor's nurse when she
phoned in fake prescriptions to pharmacists.

Her deception landed her in Judge Keith Starrett's 14th Circuit drug court,
where she was exposed as a painkiller addict.

After three years of humility and sobriety, Kincade, 45, of Brookhaven,
experienced one of the happiest days of her life Monday when she graduated
from the drug court program.

She stood up, teary-eyed but steadfast, and thanked the drug court for
giving her life back.

"I never thought I would walk up and hug the judge," she said. "I'm
different. I'm a totally different person. I have confidence."

Kincade's story is one of many that Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice
Ed Pittman said makes the 14th District drug court the best in the state.
Circuit Court Judge Mike Smith and the District Attorney's officials also
participate fully in the drug court program.

Pittman attended the graduation ceremony at the Pike County courthouse in
Magnolia Monday that at times took on the feel of a revival. He will refer
to Pike County's drug court as a model when he asks the Mississippi
Legislature next session for a statewide drug court system.

"Judge Starrett, about four years ago, he started doing a little mission
work, if you will, with me about drug court," Pittman said. "He started the
first. It's no longer the first, but I can assure you it is the best, most
successful, most productive drug court in Mississippi."

Pittman's proposed drug court system would be composed of 10 regional
courts, each representing about eight counties and each staffed by a
full-time drug court judge recruited from the senior ranks of state judges.
Under the proposed plan a drug court coordinator would take charge of
record keeping and administrative duties.

"I'm not trying to build judicial bureaucracy," he said. "Don't you know if
we need a drug court over here in Pike County, we need one in Hattiesburg?"

He urged the graduates to cherish their certificates and continue their
fight against addiction.

"This court is a meritorious court and a meritorious idea," he said. "I
came down here to say: Keep on caring. The community cares about you. ...
This is a new slate. When you get your certificate, you look at it and say,
'This is a new beginning.' "

Shouts of "amen" could be heard from the audience throughout Pittman's
speech. Afterward, as each graduate received a certificate and walked
through a procession of handshakes, family members hollered encouragement
and congratulations.

"There are a lot of exceptional people here today; a lot of hard work has
gone into what will happen here today," Starrett said. "Don't underestimate
what has happened in the lives of these people. ... I wish I had a
before-and-after picture - folks weren't smiling when they first appeared
before a judge."

For Barry Harrell, a recovering cocaine abuser and drug court graduate, the
day was especially poignant.

"This is the best birthday present I received. Today is my birthday."

"Pike County finally got it right," one man said of the program.

But the convivial atmosphere turned when Starrett encouraged graduates and
family members to stand and speak to the audience and drug court
administrators.

Many told somber but triumphant stories of how the court saved a loved one
from the scourges of drugs, how kids got back their father or mother and
how sobriety salvaged personalities once wrought unrecognizable.

Another graduate, who tried but failed to curb his emotions, summarized his
drug court experience in one tear-choked sentence.

"I've never been more embarrassed as when my name got smeared all over
McComb, and I've never been as proud as I am today getting this certificate
in front of the same people."

As each graduate praised the compassion of the court, Pittman transcribed
their words. He plans to submit the testimonials to the Legislature when he
asks lawmakers for the statewide drug court system.

Rep. Jim Barnett, along with Reps. Clem Nettles of Pike County and Kenny
Moore of Columbia, who also were at Monday's graduation, are among sponsors
of the legislation. Barnett predicts it'll pass next year.

Pittman told the graduates, "It's embarrassing to have to go through drug
court. But isn't it great ... to earn the certificate here today, with the
idea that my people, my friends, are proud today? They're not here to post
bond. They're down in the courtroom to say, 'You've done good.' "

Pittman lauded the ideology driving the court to see in each offender not a
prisoner but a potential productive member of society.

"Remember that every human being has an intrinsic value, and that in the
drug court as we feed and develop that intrinsic value, you begin to bloom
like a flower," he said. "There is good in you, and the court has been
nourishing it."

"Now, the first intrinsic value I want you to recognize is yours," he told
the graduates. "Don't lose that. Because of your success ... you know we
might walk out of here and start these courts in all the counties."