Incarceration or Rehabilitation?

As a Houston Criminal Defense Attorney I see the consequences of continual drug use.  This picture demonstrates the debilitating effects of drug use. You can clearly see the physical breakdown that  occurs with the abuse of drugs. What you don't see but can imagine is the loss of jobs, relationships and family. The consequences for a criminal drug conviction are serious.

However, there has been a move in recent years in the criminal justice system, away from incarceration to rehabilitation. For example in Harris County the STAR (Success Through Addiction Recovery) Drug Court has been established as an alternative source for drug offenders. The goal is to get addicts out of the revolving door that has become the justice system, off of drugs and onto a productive life.

The line of thinking is that it is more cost efficient and better for the public to get people off of drugs rather than house them year after year with no treatment. The tide of public opinion has turned and the courts and politicians around the country have responded.

But, there are start up costs associated with the funding of drug courts and rehabilitation programs. It is hard to get the taxpayers to agree to pay at anytime and even more so in a recession. I was speaking to one of my best friends last week, Roland Gutierrez, who also happens to be an attorney and a Texas State Legislator about this very issue. He explained to me that these programs are funded in part by the court costs of defendants convicted of drug and alcohol offenses. Fifty dollars of court costs from each conviction are used to pay for the drug courts.

Roland has sponsored legislation,House Bill 579,  that would require court cost from all criminal cases be used for more rehabilitation programs and drug courts. It sounds like a great idea, but there is actually opposition to it from some groups. It seems you can't please everybody. Hopefully when all the negotiating is done, some form of legislation passes that provides for more rehabilitation. It would be nice to have more people living productive lives with their friends and family, rather than wasting away in jail, a burden to taxpayers and their family.