By: Tim Schmidt, Record Editor
08/13/2009

Time and time again, Keith Sutherland has seen the same faces enter his courtroom only to revisit in the future.

“You just recycle the same people and drug problems,” said Sutherland, 12th Judicial Court presiding judge. “It goes around and around. You send them into the penitentiary and they get worse.”

Thanks to his interest, a stringent Drug Court program was implemented in Warren County in 2002 to help detour criminals from being placed on future court dockets.

While the court docket isn’t getting any shorter due to the spike in crimes, Sutherland is seeing criminals take hold of a second chance to stay clear from a future spent behind bars. Hopefully, he said, the cycle is being broken. “It’s treatment for your entire life,” he said.

A surprised Sutherland was recognized last Thursday at the Drug Court graduation ceremony held at the Audrain County Courthouse in Mexico. He received the Award of Excellence for his involvement and commitment to having the program applied here locally.

The presentation was made by Warren County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wright, who recalled first meeting with Sutherland 10 years ago when the program was initially discussed about being implemented here.

As a prosecutor, Wright was skeptical about dismissing charges against criminals.

“I may not have been the biggest opponent, but I can assure you I was the most vocal,” he remarked. “I was a big thorn in his side.”

Since then, the strict guidelines have helped tone down his concerns about the program. Criminals are recommended to the Drug Court program by Wright.

“We owe him (Sutherland) a debt of gratitude,” he said. “We would not be here today without this man’s dedication and vision.”

Drug Court participants must follow numerous guidelines through the minimum 18-month program, including attending weekly court and counseling sessions, contacting officials every morning, obeying a nightly curfew and performing a minimum 40 hours of community service.

Participants also must submit to drug tests when requested and cannot leave the county without permission.

“Some need the push,” Sutherland said. “Drug Court is the incentive to turn their life around. The ones that want to do it will do it and have done it.”

Sutherland was quick to deflect the praise to others who are keeping the program prosperous.

“It was a shock,” he said about last week’s surprise award. “I didn’t do all the work. It was all of the original Drug Court team and their replacements. They are all the ones doing all the work.”

Others, however, said it was Sutherland’s interest in the program that has led it to prosper. Since 2002, 15 have graduated from the local Drug Court program compared to 13 who have been terminated.

Of the graduates, only two have been convicted on new charges. The program also has been successful in neighboring Montgomery and Audrain counties. For many, those figures show that the program is opening a door for past criminals who want to turn their life around.

“Judge Sutherland saw that many individuals had potential to be successful community members instead of inmates if not for their addiction and began looking for alternative solutions,” said Christie Becker-Markovich, 12th Judicial Circuit Court administrator.

“His efforts brought the required agencies and elected officials together to begin the creation of the circuit drug court program,” she said. “If not for his determination, this much needed and highly successful program would not have been available for the individuals within this community.”