"not to many good things happen in jail"

One Year following DUI Conviction case proves

What would happen if your world suddenly collapsed? What if you were a recovering alcoholic and your wife was stricken with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM)? Would you be able to cope?

    These are many questions that come into play when you are the one faced with such tragedies. For one Greenwood man Thomas Ware, the stress was overwhelming. Mr. Ware is a good man who took that one drink that got him back into the vicious circle of alcoholism. He is a respectable member of the Greenwood Community and a member of the Episcopalian Church. He holds a regular job and a position that his company relies upon him.

   With each drink of each day Mr. Ware kept telling himself that he was OK and he was going to quit drinking. Many evenings unaware of his drinking impairment Mr. Ware drove our streets under the influence of alcohol. He was not worried because he could quit whenever he wanted.

    The problem is, he just didn’t want to quit. He felt he had his drinking under control and no one was in danger. Until one evening he had been drinking and was on his way home. He ran into a detour on a local street that was undergoing repair. Mr. Ware recalls he was trying to turn around when he got stuck in a gravel drive where fresh pea gravel had been poured. Later at an AA meeting he meet the homeowner who stated “ you were pretty messed up Mr. Ware”.

 

     That’s right, the police arrested Mr. Ware for DUI (Driving under the Influence). At court Mr. Ware was ready to do his jail time and get on with life. Judge Gregory Lewis had a different idea about the situation. Judge Lewis does not like to send people to jail if they can be helped through the recovery court program. Mr. Ware was lucky that Judge Lewis seen a future in him and offered him time in a recovery program.

   The recovery program is a most difficult thing and is no cakewalk for anyone. It is demanding and very restrictive. It scrutinizes all that anyone does. It does offer it’s rewards and allows each participate more freedom with each level of achievement. It also will punish those who fail to do as expected of them. If you fail in a level you go back to the previous level and have to go through the harsher restrictions again until you graduate to the next level, which is less restrictive.

    I also talked with a John Doe #2 case and we had an interview. He was one of the few failures of the program. He was destined to fail from the start and in my opinion would fail if he had another program again. Why, because every question was funny to him and he thought he had done something great failing the program. This mentality is that of a failure. End of his story.

    Then I have an interview with Jane Doe #3 case she was somewhere in between the good and the bad. At the present she is in the recovery program and her chances of success are great. She wants to get through this and get on with her life. It is a difficult program and she has doubts if she will be able to follow all the rules. “I hate rules,” she says. But she also wants to succeed and in our opinion will do so. We will not follow her as we have Tom Ware for over one year.

 

 (one year later)

 

    The Programs definitely works and Tom Ware is just one example of that. Now over one year later since I sat down with Mr. Tom Ware the first time, he has his life back on track and thinks only kind thoughts about the Recovery court program and what it has done for him.

  Tom has graduated (With honors) from the recovery court program in December. He has been excited ever since. He says he still sees his case worker just because he likes to talk with her.  Enjoys his life and serves as a mentor on in the Southside Indy AA program. He is also an assistant in the AA program now and tells others of his story and how Judge Gregory seen the good in him and gave him a chance rather than jail time.

   He works every day and takes care of Sandy his wife. Tom and his wife Sandy are in good spirits and both are very grateful to Judge Gregory for helping Tom get his life back. Plans for the future include helping others and to continue seeing that others know how well the program can work if you try.