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PAGE 10A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JULY 20. 2023
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Accountability Court graduation — a judicial revival meeting
With A Little Help From My Friends
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Progress Contributor
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Progress towards family em
ployment and educational
goals
• Payment of participation
fees
• Return to a crime-free and
drug-free lifestyle
Is there anything in that
list that says “soft on crime”
to you? I did not think so.
The requirements are a
well thought out combination
of the carrot and the stick.
I knew there were 19 pro
gram members scheduled for
graduation that night. I was
gearing up for a recognition
of the accomplishments
achieved by those 19 people.
I arrived early and was
surprised to find the event
was occurring in a very large
church hall. I assumed that
the approximately 400 chairs
were set up for an event on
the following night. I sat
down and people began to
end, all of that “sound and
fury” does nothing to remedy
the situation.
So, hats off to those dedi
cated people who serve their
community by making the
Appalachian Judicial Circuit
Accountability Courts an op
portunity for troubled citi
zens to turn their life around.
If you are a veteran and
you want to help a veteran
turn their life around, con
sider being a mentor. Con
tact Michael Nunnally,
mentor coordinator, Veterans
Court Appalachian Judicial
District at 404-543-5809 or
email him at
nunnalme@gmail.com .
The only way for evil to
prevail is for good people to
do nothing. Do something.
Jim Brescia is a frequent
contributor who was a com
bat squad leader in Vietnam,
had a successful business ca
reer in corporate human re
sources and is grateful to be
“here. ” He can be contacted
at jbresciashare@aol.com.
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The Beatles (remember
them?) released the song
With a Little Help from My
Friends as part of their wildly
successful Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The song was famously
“covered” by Joe Cocker.
That was 56 years ago but it
exactly describes the support
that veterans in the Ap
palachian Judicial Circuit
Veterans Court receive.
As a new mentor in the
veterans court, I was asked to
attend the joint graduation
ceremony for the Ap
palachian Judicial Circuit Ac
countability Courts. The
accountability courts are an
umbrella organization for
four courts that serve differ
ent categories of offenders.
If you are a law and order
person you might be thinking
“Is this another soft-on-crime
program?”
The news headlines are
full of the disasters caused by
misguided soft-on-crime pro
grams. I want to dissuade you
of that thought.
These accountability
courts have the following re
quirements:
• Two years of alcohol and
other drug intensive out
placement treatment;
• Group therapy and indi
vidual counseling
• Intensive case management
• 24-hour crises response
• Random drug testing
• Community supervision by
compliance officers
• Recurring court appear
ances
• Incentives and sanctions re
lated to progress and non-
compliance
• Verifiable participation in
12-step- meetings
• Referral to needed commu
nity services
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At the veterans court graduation (l-r) Appalachian Judicial Circuit Accountability Vet
erans Court Case Manager John DiRenzo, Program Coordinator Chris Holt, and the Hon
orable Judge Brenda S. Weaver.
enter the hall.
Over the next 45 minutes,
I learned the broad impact on
the community that these ac
countability courts have.
There was a steady flow
of spouses, parents, children,
grandparents and program
participants. They were all
here to congratulate the grad
uates and acknowledge their
achievements. By the time
the program began, all seats
were taken. Do you want to
begin to understand the im
pact of these programs? Start
with recognizing the number
of lives touched.
Eventually, my eyes fo
cused on the chairs on the
stage facing the audience. I
found out later that these
chairs were for the judges
(Judge Brenda S. Weaver,
Judge John Worcester and
Judge Patricia King), the
chief public defender, the
prosecutor, program coordi
nators and treatment
providers. I could not help
thinking how comforting it
would be to me if I knew all
of those people were dedi
cated to helping me be suc
cessful.
As the night progressed
we heard heartwarming sto
ries of difficulties, in some
cases backsliding and ulti
mately triumph over the
demons that had taken hold.
Family members applauded.
There were some tears.
It was a judicial revival
meeting.
If you are results orien
tated, the recidivism rate for
the veterans court will be of
interest to you. The recidi
vism rate for the general
criminal population with is
sues similar to the veterans in
the veterans court program is
68%. The recidivism rate for
those veterans who complete
the program is 11%. Aston
ishingly, the recidivism rate
for those veterans who do not
complete all the requirements
of the program is 14%.
Clearly, participation in
the program has a dramatic
positive effect on the partici
pants.
It is easy to rail against
crime and the judicial sys
tem. The mainstream news
headlines are replete with
stories that infuriate people
who respect our laws. In the
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