Cabell County Drug Court Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Us & Them Encore: Court Of Second Chances?

In West Virginia and many other states, there’s a court of second chances; a court-monitored drug treatment program designed to help people stay clean and out of jail. In this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay explores how treatment courts work for adults and juveniles. This episode was first released in December 2022, and since then has received a regional Edward R. Murrow award from the Radio Television Digital News Association for best podcast.

This episode of Us & Them was first released in December 2022, and since then has received a regional Edward R. Murrow award from the Radio Television Digital News Association for best podcast. We’ve updated the episode and want to share it with you again now.

In West Virginia, there are nearly 50 specialized court programs designed to help teens and adults kick their drug addictions. Drug courts divert people away from incarceration into a rigorous, court-monitored treatment program. They are intense experiences, some more than a year long. Participants are drug tested regularly and require monitoring devices.

Graduation rates across the country show success rates from 29 percent to more than 60 percent. There are many supporters within the justice system, but critics say drug courts only work with the easiest first-time offenders and don’t take violent offenders or sex offenders. Some drug courts require a guilty plea before someone can participate, which can limit a person’s options if they don’t make it through the program.

In this Us & Them episode, host Trey Kay talks with people about this court-designed approach to sobriety that began nearly 50 years ago when the first drug court opened its doors.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Just Trust, the West Virginia Humanities Council, the CRC Foundation and the Daywood Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Joanna Tabit, a Circuit Court Judge in Kanawha County, W.Va., has been at the helm of a juvenile drug court for the past six years.

*Courtesy Photo*

Sheila Vakharia, deputy director of the Department of Research and Academic Engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy organization, describes the organization’s mission as “working to end the war on drugs.”

*Courtesy Photo*

Gregory Howard is chief circuit judge in Cabell County, W.Va. and oversees the Adult Drug Court.

*Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Kerwin Kaye, a scholar who has studied the effectiveness of drug courts, is a professor at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and author of a book called “Enforcing Freedom,” about drug treatment courts in America.

*Credit: Wesleyan University*

Adam Fowler speaks to those gathered in Judge Gregory Howard’s courtroom in Cabell County, W.Va. as he graduates from the Drug Court Program. Fowler told *Us & Them* host Trey Kay, he had tried to recover from substance use disorder many times before with no success. “I was doing it for all the wrong people. I was just doing it to make the judge happy … to make my probation officer happy. This time I did it for myself,” he said.

Fowler told Kay his new commitment to turn his life around came after an overdose that left him in a coma. “I had to learn to walk and talk again. And from that moment on, I just knew there’s more to life than death,” he said.

*Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Robin Sullivan, a support specialist with the people in the Cabell County, W.Va. Drug Court Program, graduated from treatment court in 2019. She told *Us & Them* host Trey Kay she started using drugs when she was 13.

“My mom is an addict. She was one of the first people who I started using with. And as a child, we don’t ever think that our parents are going to steer us in the wrong direction. But, you know, sometimes people make a choice. Some people, you know, eventually it does become a choice. Some people are born into it,” Sullivan said.

*Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Jan Rader, former fire chief in Huntington, W.Va., was a central figure in the critically-acclaimed Netflix documentary “Heroin(e).” She now leads Huntington’s Council for Public Health and Drug Control Policy.

*Credit: Netflix*

Court Of Second Chances?

In West Virginia and many other states, there’s a court of second chances. It’s a court-monitored drug treatment program designed to help people stay clean and out of jail. In this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay speaks with West Virginia Circuit Court Judges Joanna Tabit and Gregory Howard and Sheila Vakharia, deputy director of the Department of Research and Academic Engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance. He asks: How do these treatment courts work for adults and juveniles?

Graduation rates across the country show success rates from 29 percent to more than 60 percent. There are many supporters within the justice system, but critics say drug courts only work with the easiest, first-time offenders and don’t take violent offenders or sex offenders. Some drug courts require a guilty plea before someone can participate, which can limit a person’s options if they don’t make it through the program.

In this Us & Them episode, host Trey Kay talks with people about this court-designed approach to sobriety that began nearly 50 years ago when the first drug court opened its doors.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Just Trust, the West Virginia Humanities Council, the CRC Foundation and the Daywood Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Joanna Tabit is a Circuit Court Judge in Kanawha County, West Virginia. She has been at the helm of a juvenile drug court for the past five years.

Sheila Vakharia is Deputy Director of the Department of Research and Academic Engagement at the Drug Policy Alliance, a national advocacy organization. Vakharia describes the organization’s mission as “working to end the war on drugs.”

Gregory Howard is Chief Circuit Judge in Cabell County, West Virginia and oversees the Adult Drug Court.

Adam Fowler speaks to those gathered in Judge Gregory Howard’s courtroom in Cabell County, West Virginia as he graduates from the Drug Court Program. Fowler told Us & Them host Trey Kay, he had tried to recover from substance use disorder many times before with no success. “I was doing it for all the wrong people. I was just doing it to make the judge happy … to make my probation officer happy. This time I did it for myself.” He told Kay his new commitment to turn his life around came after an overdose that left him in a coma. “I had to learn to walk and talk again. And from that moment on, I just knew there’s more to life than death.”

Robin Solomon works as a support specialist with the people in the Cabell County (WV) Drug Court Program. However, back in 2019, she was the one graduating. She told Us & Them host Trey Kay that she started using drugs when she was 13. “My mom is an addict. She was one of the first people who I started using with. And as a child, we don’t ever think that our parents are going to steer us in the wrong direction. But, you know, sometimes people make a choice. Some people, you know, eventually it does become a choice. Some people are born into it.”

Rebecca Kiger

Netflix

Jan Rader was the former fire chief in Huntington, West Virginia and a central figure in the critically-acclaimed Netflix documentary “Heroin(e).” She now leads Huntington’s Council for Public Health and Drug Control Policy.

Cabell County Drug Court Expands for Prostitutes

State and local officials gathered Friday in a court room at the Cabell County Courthouse. They came together to re-dedicate the existing drug court program by changing the name from Cabell County Drug Court to Cabell-Huntington Drug Court. They also announced a new program within the drug court: the Women’s Empowerment and Addiction Recovery program.

It’s designed specifically for women engaging in prostitution to support a drug habit. It follows the same one-year model as drug court, but with changes that cater to female clients, such as domestic violence counseling, family planning, trauma treatment and a course about healthy sexuality. Huntington Police Chief Joe Ciccarelli said expanding the drug court to help these women is essential.

“This is absolutely critical because this is what’s going to solve that problem,” Ciccarelli said. “The prostitution issue is a subset of the larger drug problem, every one of these prostitutes is a drug addict, till we fix the addiction piece, we’re going to have to deal with the prostitution piece.”

Prostitution arrests have doubled in Huntington since 2010 as heroin use numbers have risen. Law enforcement officials blame the resurgence of heroin as a cheaper alternative to prescription pain pills for the uptick in cases of prostitution.

“It’s a hand-in-hand situation and these are all interrelated problems so you have to address them comprehensively, you have to be attacking the drug problem, you have to be attacking the prostitution problem, not unlike how we’ve attacked the property crime issue because that again is another subset of a larger problem,” Ciccarelli said.

Drug court is a one-year program that is completed in phases. Only non-violent, felony offenders are eligible for the program and have to be approved by the judge and prosecutor for the program.