The 18th Judicial District – Jones County Drug Court program was established in 2012 by Jones County Circuit Judge Billy Joe Landrum. Today Judge Dal Williamson presides over the program, a program that gives a substance abuse offender a sentencing option other than prison.
The program gives participants an opportunity to break the cycle of criminal behavior, substance use and incarceration. On Tuesday evening, October 22, a graduating ceremony was held for ten individuals who have successfully completed all of the program’s stringent requirements. By completing the program, the graduates will now have their drug-related offenses dismissed from their records.
According to Drug Court Coordinator Consuelo Walley, each participant has a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years to complete the program. When an offender first enters the program, Walley and Case Manager Kenyada Smith sit down with the individual and determine their short term and long term goals. Within the first three months, the participant must attend 90 meetings in 90 days. Random drug tests are given twice per week for the first year. After a year, and as the individual progresses through the program, the random drug tests decrease to once per week and toward the end of their program once every two weeks.
In addition, participants must have or obtain a valid driver’s license, appear at two court status hearings, obtain a high school diploma or GED if they do not have one, enter a 12-step program, complete parenting classes and anger management classes, be gainfully employed, pay off all court fees, and adhere to a 10 p.m. curfew.
The ceremony on Tuesday evening began with a tribute to Jimmy Dale Reynolds, who played a vital role in the drug court as the MDOC officer since its beginnings. Reynolds suddenly passed away in July of this year. Williamson said almost every drug court participant has expressed having feared Reynolds when they first met him.
“Jimmy knew when it was a time to be firm,” stated Williamson. “I can tell you that Jimmy loved each and every participant in the drug court and was devoted to each participant. Sometimes that meant being firm and sometimes that meant showing compassion. Jimmy always knew the right mixture. We miss him today, and we’ll miss him always.”
A plaque and a shadow box containing badges from the variety of law enforcement agencies Reynolds served during his career were presented to Reynolds’ wife, Susan, daughter, Kristy, and son, Dale.
Carol Windham, who Williamson said worked side-by-side with Reynolds on many things including curfew checks, has taken over the position of MDOC officer.
Williamson commented on the evening saying, “This is a time of celebration and thanksgiving. A time to celebrate lives turned around and accomplishments made. They have overcome a problem and are accelerating in life now.”
Keynote speaker for the graduation was Angela Mallette, who is the executive director of the Mississippi Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Project and a graduate of the 20th Judicial District Drug Court. She has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Mississippi and serves on the board of Southern Recovery Advocacy and the Road to Recovery Advocacy group. She acts as a liaison to recovery community organizations statewide. She is originally from Jackson County, Mississippi, and now lives with her family in Madison.
Mallette said her addiction came later in her life. She was 27 years old when she got pregnant for the first time, and the baby was stillborn at about eight months.
“After that, they did a Cesarean and prescribed me OxyContin. I went home with a bottle of pills to an empty house and a whole lot of shattered dreams,” explained Mallette. “That’s where my addiction began. It flourished over the next seven years. I lost my home, my family and my job. So, I’m not any different or any more special than a lot of you. I’ve walked that road and I’ve been there. I’ve been yanked back through the gates of hell.”
While going through recovery and drug court, Mallette said she made up her mind that she was no longer going to be ashamed of who she was. She now works with thousands of law enforcement officers to help them understand what addiction really is and how to help people.
“It’s not something you should shame people about,” exclaimed Mallette. “We are not bad people choosing to do these things. We are in the midst of a compulsive disease and you have to have treatment in order to stop it.” She added that no one really wakes up one morning and asks themselves “how can I mess up my life today?”
Mallette challenged the graduates to figure out why they started using in the first place. She said that taking OxyContin dulled the pain that she had felt since she was six years old when “some really bad things happened” to her.
“I had been trying to numb that pain my entire life,” exclaimed Mallette. “The first time I took those pills, it all got better. But, now that I know that about myself and what those drugs solved for me, I can deal with it in another way.”
She encouraged the graduates and those still in the program to figure out what pain is being numbed or what fear is being calmed.
Before receiving their graduation certificates, the participants were required to write a final essay describing their experience with drug court and prepare a short graduating speech.
Williamson read excerpts from the essays, and most described how in one way or another that their addictions had cost them everything. Many lost their family, homes, jobs, transportation, self-respect, and one actually died and was brought back to life. They spoke of being introduced to Jesus Christ and changing their lives with his help.
“I got tired of using, but I didn’t know how to quit,” wrote one person in his essay. “Easter week Lt. Robert Little held a revival at the jail, that’s when I accepted Christ and accepted a new way of living. God delivered me from my addictions. I went from a prison sentence to going on drug court. God has blessed me more than I deserve. My relationships have been mended. I have been blessed with a beautiful wife and family along with a new baby. And, I am running the family business.”
Another participant wrote, “Before drug court I didn’t have any dreams, because I thought I would live in the nightmare of addiction for the rest of my life. But now I have dreams of one day owning my own business.”
From their testimonies, one could tell that the journey wasn’t easy, but they were all thankful for having traveled down the road of recovery.