Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Graduate says drug court saved her life

By: dmc-admin//October 13, 2008//

Graduate says drug court saved her life

By: dmc-admin//October 13, 2008//

Listen to this article

In 2006, Cynthia Running had a decision to make — spend up to 16 years in Taycheedah Correctional Institution or enroll in the Winnebago County Drug Court Program.

She chose the latter and said it probably saved her life.

Intense, incentive-based alternatives to incarceration programs are becoming more prevalent in Wisconsin, with 18 counties supporting some type of treatment court, although supporters admit that they are not for everyone.

A habitual drug user for more than 30 years, Running, now 47, was convicted of five felonies including theft of more than $10,000 in relation to cocaine trafficking when she decided to give the alternative program a try.

After more than 100 rehabilitative meetings, hours of community service and dozens of urinalysis tests, Running was one of the first graduates of the Winnebago County program on Aug. 24, 2007.

“I am sure that I wouldn’t even be here given how much I was using when I was busted,” said Running. “I’m lucky to be alive.”

Positive Alternative

One of the goals of the drug court experience is to give offenders a life, instead of a life in and out of prison, according to Circuit Court Judge Scott C. Woldt, who helped establish the program in Winnebago County.

At the same time, the three-phase process, which takes a minimum of one year to complete, is designed to force offenders to confront their crimes. Only non-violent felony offenders are eligible for the program.

“My state public defender came up to me and said a program just started and I think you might qualify,” said Running. “He gave me a booklet, and I said, ‘Are you serious? This is impossible.’”

The impossible came to pass and she graduated last year. Running, who has two brothers in law enforcement, is clean and working a steady job to pay off $14,000 of restitution owed for her past indiscretions.

Since its inception in 2006, the Winnebago drug court has graduated 10 offenders, including four at an Oct. 7 ceremony attended by all seven state Supreme Court justices.

“Our recidivism rate for graduates is zero, based on taking only non-violent felonies,” Woldt said at the ceremony. “The state average for people coming into the court system with similar records is 58 percent, so that speaks pretty highly of our graduates.”

A similar program in Eau Claire County has also enjoyed success, with 18 graduates since 2004 and a 16 percent recidivism rate. Eau Claire County Circuit Court Judge Lisa K. Stark said the county has saved more than $20,000 in jail costs.

Like most specialty court programs, the drug courts in Eau Claire and Winnebago are county-funded, something Woldt called a blessing because many federally-funded programs fall apart once the grants run out.

“We convinced the County Board that we can save money by lowering the recidivism rate,” said Woldt. “We can treat people for $8,100 a year compared to the $30,000 it costs to put them in prison.”

Not For Everyone

While Woldt touts the fact that none of his graduates have come back to court, he concedes that not everyone who enrolls is a success story.

Of the 60 program participants through October, 23 have been terminated from the program for a variety of reasons, including continued abuse of drugs or alcohol.

Since the program is a condition of an offender’s probation, any violators return to prison to serve out their sentence.

“For us, it’s more low risk, compared to offenders where it’s high risk, but high reward,” said Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Balskus, who was the prosecuting attorney in Running’s case. “A lot of these people have been teetering right on the brink and if they can get everything together, it’s going to help us overall and them tremendously.”

Woldt said it’s always difficult to see someone who he’s worked with in the program come back for sentencing.

“If I sent someone to drug court another judge might have done the termination, but they come back to me for sentencing,” said Woldt. “It was very emotional the first time I had to sentence someone because of that.”

In the case of Michelle Ballard, one of the Oct. 7 graduates, prosecutors were initially reluctant to endorse her enrollment in drug court.

In 2007, Ballard was found guilty of four felony counts of forgery and had spent the previous five years in and out of jail and various treatment programs.

At graduation, Assistant District Attorney Eric D. Sparr said it took some convincing to get the department to agree that Ballard deserved another chance, instead of incarceration.

“In all honesty, we didn’t really think she would make it through,” said Sparr. “Obviously, she exceeded our expectations and I’m proud and happy to say we were wrong.”

Ballard, who was the quickest graduate the program has had thus far — one year and six days — said even she doubted her ability to survive the process, but she did not want to become another statistic.

“It’s been really tough,” Ballard said, “but I don’t expect to be visiting any jail cells soon and I don’t want to be the one to make that zero percent go up, that’s for sure.”

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests