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LOCAL
CHAMPION
April 21 - 27, 2016 » Page 5A
'Jobs not jail' is DA's call to action
DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James wants local businesses to give a
second chance to youth graduating from a jail diversion program. Photo by Andrew
Cauthen
by Andrew Cauthen
Andrew@dekalbchamp.com
“I’m so glad to be here and not
in jail.”
That’s what Anaia Johnson, a
graduate of DeKalb County’s
Anti-Recidivism Diversion
Court, said April 13 during
DeKalb County District
Attorney Robert James’ “Jobs Not
Jail: A Call to Action” event.
“I knew that I could not be in jail,’
Johnson said about events that led
to her run in with the law. “That was
not a place for me.”
After completing the county’s
diversion program Johnson is now
in the process of completing her
application to law school. She plans
to be a lawyer.
“There are attorneys who want
to help children,” she said about the
program. “They are not all out here
just to lock us all up and throw us in
jail.”
James’ “Jobs Not Jail” program
is designed to help youth graduating
from the diversion program to find
jobs in the community.
Initiated in 2011, the Anti-
Recidivism Diversion Court is “a
way to prevent young, nonviolent
offenders from committing more
crimes after their first arrest,”
according to a news release about
the program.
As part of the program, James
invited business and community
leaders to participate in the event to
encourage them to provide jobs to
graduates of the program.
“I want kids to get jobs,” James
said. “I want young people who
we’re providing a second chance,
young people who would otherwise
be incarcerated, who would
otherwise be in prison—I want to
make sure that they get employed.
“Why? Because we know that
when young people are working...
the chances that they’re going to
commit more crimes or recidivate
...drop dramatically,” James said.
“This is not just something cute
that we’re doing,” he said. “It’s not
just something humanitarian that
we’re doing. It is humanitarian but
ultimately this is a crime prevention
measure because when somebody
goes out and...commits more
crimes, oftentimes they create more
victims.
“If you can give them a job
and make them a taxpayer versus
them being unemployed committing
crimes living on the state’s dime and
becoming a tax eater, I’ll take the
option of giving them a job anytime,”
James said.
James said he hosted the event
to “raise awareness.”
“People need to be aware of the
problems we have with recidivism...
throughout the whole country,”
James said. “We have almost 2
million people that are incarcerated
in this country.”
James said he also wanted to
have “a call to action to bring people
to the table who are employers and
supervisors so that we can put a
significant dent in this recidivism
and this crime problem... by offering
people a better opportunity which is
jobs.”
Darreous, another graduate
of Anti-Recidivism Diversion Court,
said, “I got into this program by
messing my own life up.” He
burglarized a home with a friend.
“The program came and saved
me, saved my life,” Darreous said.
“It sat me down for a second.
“I had a chance to sit down and
think what I did wrong,” he said. “I
have a second chance at [life]. It
changed my life for the better.”
Attendees remember the victims of crimes during a recent event. Photos by
Travis Hudgons
DeKalb County Solicitor-General Sherry DeKalb County Sheriff Jeff Mann
Boston
VICTIMS Continued From Page 1A
four that were arrested and plead
guilty to what they did,” Lash said.
“There’s a bigger plan here. We
don’t want division.”
Sims also shared a story
involving victory over adversity. On
April 28, 2013, Sims’ ex-boyfriend
threw sulfuric acid on her, resulting
in third- and fourth-degree burns
on 20 percent of her body. For two
months, Sims was in a sustained
coma and underwent 13 surgeries.
She awoke with the resolve to
prosecute her attacker and not let
such violent circumstances define
her life.
She has since become an
advocate for survivors of domestic
abuse at the international level. She
currently serves as a clinical mental
health counselor. On April 25, 2015,
the Fulton County Commission
officially named April 25 Christy
Sims Day.
Sims said her entire life
changed in an instant, resulting in a
lost career and emotional distress
for her family, but she refuses to let
the traumatic event define her life.
“Yes, I guess you can call me a
victim,” Sims said. “But I’m here to
let you know I’m on the other side.
I’m a victor. I’m here to tell you yes,
it is Crime Victims’ week, but I will
not be defined by my circumstance.
I made a decision early on in this
process that I would define the
crime that happened to me, it would
not define me.”
Sims said the crime allowed
her to pursue her passion of
helping people in the field of
counseling. Sims said she needed
to be humbled, but is ready to help
people by “telling her story until
[she’s] blue in the face.”
“I get called ‘courageous’ a lot,”’
Sims said. “My way of surviving
was to get out there and say,
‘Listen, this is what happened to
me, do something about it,’ not
just for me, but for everybody. April
28 was the worst day of my life
and the best day of my life. I know
for certain my pretty face with the
freckles and dimples could not
have saved the number of lives I’ve
saved.”
DeKalb County Sheriff Jeff
Mann was present at the event
to highlight the scope of DeKalb
County’s violent crime.
“In 2015 alone, we took in over
36,000 individuals into our custody,”
Mann said. “That means there were
more than 36,000 victims in DeKalb
County.”