Monday, January 15, 2007

Sue Bell Cobb: Drug Courts in all 67 Counties

The Montgomery Advertiser has an article this morning entitled "Drug courts help non-violent offenders mend lives" in which it states that Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Sue Bell Cobb, wants to have drug courts established in all 67 of Alabama's counties by the end of her term.

I want to start by saying that I am very happy that Chief Justice Cobb was elected as the first woman Cheif Justice in Alabama. I think having a feminine mind on the bench will bring more rationality and compassion to our judicial system. Sadly, I have my doubts that she will get to do many of the things she has laid out in her agenda because she is the ONLY Democrat on the bench at the Supreme Court.

I am also very pleased by her adamant belief that trying to keep people out of jail for drug use is always best for everyone involved. While I do not agree with drug courts for ANYTHING having to do with marijuana I think that there is room for a drug court in cases of extreme addiction where users pose a threat to others. For example, a young mother with 2 children under the age of three has become addicted to meth and her children are suffering from neglect. It makes way more sense to try and help this young woman through drug court than to send her to jail and place her children in state cutody. That destroys the family unit and takes away the one thing that might help this young mother get back on the right track....her babies.

Read the whole article HERE

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I totally agree, drug courts are the answer that all counties need. Why would anyone want to further destroy someones life. It makes no snese to throw a nonviolent offendr in jail, prison when they can be helped, and restore their lives much cheaper in a Rehab than be exposed to something worse behind bars. To me it is a no brainer