Problem-solving court in Macon Judicial Circuit links troubled veterans with VA services

While in the U.S. Army, a Macon woman badly injured her leg in a Humvee accident and was medically discharged.

In the time that followed, she got hooked on pain medication.

“She began taking things from people and selling it or just stealing people’s debit cards, so she could fuel her drug habit,” prosecutor Craig Neprud said.

Instead of being sent to prison, the veteran was placed in an inpatient substance abuse treatment program at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Dublin. When she’s released, she’ll go to an aftercare facility in Decatur, Neprud said.

If successful in her treatment, she won’t have a felony record.

The woman is one of five participants in the Macon Judicial Circuit’s Veterans Court program.

Veterans Court aims to match veterans who commit crimes -- and who suffered physical or mental injuries as a result of their military service -- with treatment offered by the VA instead of sending them to jail. In most cases, those who successfully complete the program won’t have a conviction on their record.

Started early this year, the program includes veterans from the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy. Participants’ eras of service range from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Four of the cases are based in Bibb County, and one is in Peach County. The judicial circuit also includes Crawford County, but no veterans in that county have been admitted to the program.

Chief Judge Tripp Self, the circuit district attorney’s office and public defenders office partnered with the VA last year to start the program.

About a year after announcing the court’s launch, Self said he’s pleased with the program’s progress. He said the court’s partners have applied for a state grant to fund a part-time coordinator.

With support from the VA and local partners, the court hasn’t used any additional funding from taxpayers, Self said.

Circuit Public Defender Lee Robinson, an infantry leader in Vietnam, said it’s “imperative” that alternatives be found to incarceration.

Military experience -- not just combat -- but also the uncertainty of survival, impacts people, he said.

Veterans are admitted to the program after being referred by prosecutors or defense lawyers.

They then undergo a series of evaluations to identify treatable problems that might have caused their criminal behavior, such as homelessness, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury or military sexual trauma, Neprud said.

Neprud, the program’s prosecutor, was hired by the District Attorney’s Office last year after he served more than four years in the Army.

Although substance abuse, theft and domestic violence are the most common crimes included in the program, cases are considered on a case-by-case basis, District Attorney David Cooke said.

“If it’s rooted in a problem related to that person’s service, then we are very likely to let them in,” he said.

Participants typically undergo either outpatient treatment provided by local agencies or inpatient treatment at the VA hospital in Dublin, said Mark Beberman, the public defender representing the veterans as they participate in the program.

After release, the veterans are placed in a longer-term residential recovery program, which typically includes helping the participant become self-supporting with a job, Beberman said.

For example, an Army veteran who served three tours in Iraq was arrested in a domestic violence case. He was found to be suffering from a traumatic brain injury and PTSD, Neprud said.

After completing an inpatient program at the VA, the man now is working at a south Georgia horse farm that specializes in helping veterans.

EARLY SUCCESS

When Self, an Army veteran, holds court to periodically check in on the veterans’ progress, he typically doesn’t wear a black robe.

It’s a casual affair, sometimes held in the courtroom and other times in his office.

More often than not, the judge pulls up a chair for a laid-back check-in.

Self said he’s only had to impose a sanction -- a weekend in jail -- for one participant who afterward hasn’t had any difficulty following the program’s requirements.

Beberman said it’s too early to say whether the program will be successful long term, but in the short term it’s helping veterans get quicker access to VA services.

“We’re linking them to services they weren’t getting before, they either didn’t know they could get before or they were having difficulty getting the right service,” he said.

Success in a lot of cases is day by day, Beberman said.

“Every day that we can keep a veteran engaged in treatment, every day we can help them address the issues they have to face ... every day we can keep them on that right path, I see that as a success,” he said.

Neprud said he’s seen a “night and day difference” in the participants.

“They’re being held accountable by other veterans,” he said.

Veterans not eligible for the program also have been helped, Self said.

Through contact with the court’s liaison with the VA, veterans are learning about benefits and services that many of them didn’t know they might qualify to receive.

Neprud said there’s room in the program for more veterans, but often inmates don’t admit they served in the military.

“We think it’s because of shame,” he said. “We can definitely handle more and would like to.”

In addition to being referred by lawyers, family members can recommend a veteran for the program.

To make a recommendation, contact Beberman at 478-621-5950.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.

This story was originally published November 9, 2014 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Problem-solving court in Macon Judicial Circuit links troubled veterans with VA services ."