South Dakota Drug Courts Helping To Lower Prison Population

MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) — In the last two years, Joel Amick, Kelly Carpenter and many others who are going through drug court have helped stabilize the prison population in South Dakota.

Both convicted criminals who live in Mitchell, Amick and Carpenter are successfully making their way through James Valley Drug Court. Amick, 28, is nearing graduation and Carpenter, 34, is close to entering her final phase in the program.

Drug court is an intensely supervised experience overseen by a team of professionals, including a judge, attorneys, treatment counselors, court services officers and law enforcement. It was implemented in Davison County in 2013. Ask your attorney can a DUI prevent you from getting a CDL and know what you need to do.

“Overall, drug court has created an opportunity for adults to become positive members of our community, to improve their parenting and employment skills,” said Tim Moon, James Valley Drug Court probation officer.

Most drug courts across the state were implemented after the Public Safety Improvement Act, or Senate Bill 70, passed in the 2013 legislative session. Northern Hills Drug Court and Sioux Falls Drug Court were both implemented a few years prior as trial programs to prove they could work.

Since July 2013, 262 people statewide have enrolled in the five drug courts and four DUI courts and 216 of those have stayed out of the penitentiary, according to statistics from the state. Fifty-two have graduated from the programs. Each participant has three years to complete a drug court program, serving a minimum of 18 months to be successful. The program has an 82 percent retention rate.

Senate Bill 70 also incorporated presumptive probation. If someone is convicted of a class 5 or 6 felony, a judge must give probation rather than prison time if the crime was not violent.

These two features greatly helped reduce the prison population, said David Gilbertson, chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court.

According to numbers from the Unified Judicial System, numbers of prison inmates have decreased since 2012. In 2009, total inmates in South Dakota was at 3,427. In 2012, that jumped to 3,648. By the end of 2014, the prison population in South Dakota decreased to 3,573.

Gilbertson said drug courts helped prevent the state from having to build new prisons, helped keep people in communities, employed, in school, and taking care of their families.

“By not imprisoning as many people for lesser-grade felonies, nonviolent felonies … the prison population has dropped,” Gilbertson said. “That’s quite a savings for the taxpayers.”

Gilbertson said it costs about $3 a day to place someone on probation as opposed to $65 a day, minimum, to house someone in prison. Although there are about 7,400 people on felony probation this year compared to last year’s approximate 5,400, Gilbertson said that’s still saving the state and taxpayers money.

Drug courts have also helped addicts deal with their addictions rather than just sending them to a prison where they may not get the help they need.

“If they deal with the addiction, they’re less likely to go out and repeat the crime that got them into court,” Gilbertson said of drug court participants. “If they don’t treat their addiction, and are sent to prison, they’re still an addict when they’re released.”

In Mitchell, 10 people have entered the drug court program, and three have failed. But, two are in phase 1, two are in phase 2 and two are in phase 3, and the seventh is the first to be enrolled in the James Valley DUI Court. An eighth person joined the program as well as the second to be enrolled in DUI court.

Amick was sentenced to James Valley Drug Court in October 2013 as the program’s first client. Amick was convicted of his fourth DUI in August 2013. He is proving to be an excellent choice, according to his probation officers.

“I can’t remember the last time I thought about drinking,” Amick said in an interview with The Daily Republic ( ). “I just surrounded myself with good people and that’s who you become.”

He said also listening to counselors, probation officers and mentors has helped him build structure and be successful in the program.

Carpenter was sentenced to drug court in March 2014 after being arrested for possession of methamphetamine. She admits she slipped in the program and used drugs once, which landed her in jail over a weekend, but she is a hard-worker and on the path to success, according to her probation officers.

Amick and Carpenter are two of seven currently in the drug court program, which has three phases. Amick is in the final phase and close to becoming the first graduate. Carpenter is in phase two and working toward entering phase three.

“Stepping out of your comfort zone and asking people for help were the hardest,” Amick said of starting drug court.

“Asking for help has the No. 1 thing I’ve struggled with,” Carpenter agreed. “But you can’t be afraid to ask for help. There have been times I’ve wanted to give up because it’s a very hard program.”

Amick and Carpenter credit their success in the program to their support systems. Carpenter said Moon, the drug court probation officer, is always available to help. Carpenter said her mother is a huge support, as are the professionals at Stepping Stones and peers at Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

“My children keep me accountable,” Carpenter said of her four children. “I want to be able to be there, sober and happy. I want to be the mom they deserve and had at one time.”

Amick credits his church, his family and other supporters who keep him accountable for his actions.

“I have a lot of godly men from the church I can look up to for examples of how to be a father, husband, friend, how to love and care for people,” Amick said. “Pastor (Keith) Nash has been a great mentor in my life.
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Carpenter and Amick agree — drug court is hard.

“In the first phase, they are all in your face,” Carpenter said.

Anyone just starting out must attend drug court once a week to meet with the judge, drug court team and report on their week. Throughout the week, participants attend meetings, counseling, treatment and work or school. Between these times, participants are expected to be home, with an absolute curfew of 10 p.m. every day.

Moon conducts random home visits, which include breathalyzers to check for alcohol use. Moon also does a visual inspection of the participant’s home for any violations, such as physical evidence of drug or alcohol use.

Despite the participants’ irritations with home checks two to three times a week, Moon said random home checks — which take place at any time of day — reduce recidivism.

Nicki Peterson, drug court support specialist, said drug court, most importantly, helps reunite families and keeps them together.

Frequent office visits with Moon and Peterson also help participants stay on track.

“The world catches up to them fast,” Moon said. “Aspects like having to have a job, looking for insurance, kids going to school, and plus the stress of all our requirements becomes overwhelming for them.”

Home visits help ensure the participants are doing well.

By phases 2 and 3, curfews are at 11 p.m. and midnight, respectively. Participants also have fewer visits to drug court, and not as many classes and treatment appointments.

Drug court has also helped Amick and Carpenter build tools they’ll need the rest of their lives to remain sober, as sobriety is the main goal of drug court.

Amick has been sober since he was arrested for fourth-offense DUI in July 2013.

Carpenter has been sober about 75 days. Throughout the program, she had a few slips when she took prescription pills not prescribed to her. She spent one weekend in jail for a slip, two overnights in jail and one full day.

“I hate jail,” she said. “It’s so depressing. You just sit there and think of all the stupid things that got you there. I told myself, ‘Don’t do this again. Get it right, girl.'”

Carpenter said stress is her trigger for relapse, because stress makes her want to feel nothing. But now she turns to her support groups when she is stressed out, like her therapist, grief support group and friends from AA meetings.

She also focuses on her children, ages 14, 12, 9 and 7, who are all in her custody.

Amick said his family and church family help him cope with the stresses of keeping sober and going through drug court.

“Drug court holds me accountable,” Amick said. “But the church and Jesus is where my foundation lies. … At first I was a young punk and wanted my own way. But now, I do what they say because nine times out of 10, they’re right and I do it anyway.”

Carpenter and Amick said it feels good to be sober and in a probation program that has held them accountable. Carpenter said she felt she could do whatever she wanted on regular probation, but drug court is so strict she feels positively pushed to succeed.

“Drug court puts you in a position to succeed,” Amick said. “Whether you choose to use that is up to you.”

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Information from: The Daily Republic,