John Bennett, who spent 15 years as an active duty U.S. Marine and is currently in the reserves, is now trying to help soldiers who find themselves in trouble with the law once they return home. He said once some soldiers return home they have trouble adjusting to life outside of war.
While many can easily integrate back into their old lives, other soldiers may suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression. To cope, some may turn to alcohol or drugs, which can lead to crime, Bennett said.
Even though many of these soldiers spent years fighting for their country, once in the court system, war veterans are treated like everyone else - a fact that Bennett is hoping to change in Oklahoma and across the country with a court system specifically for veterans.
Instead of a traditional court system, Bennett hopes veterans who get in trouble will have a court system customized for them that promotes rehabilitation and treatment. The program would provide veterans with mentoring, monitoring and a second chance.
Bennett suffered a traumatic brain injury in his last tour of Iraq and is considered a disabled veteran, he said. He also has several friends affected by PTSD and from trauma in combat.
"It really changes people," Bennett said.
He said many soldiers coming home are scared to get help or see the stigma from seeking help.
"They self-medicate," Bennett said. "I did it too."
He said many drink alcohol to try to help with their problems. Some are having nightmares from what they have seen in war. Alcohol can lead to other things, such as drug abuse.
"That always leads to some kind of crime," Bennett said of drugs.
Bennett is quick to point out the veterans court would not be a "get out of jail free card." He estimated that the majority of those veterans getting in trouble haven't been in trouble before. Some are being arrested for driving under the influence or drug crimes.
"Give them the opportunity to fix themselves," Bennett is asking through the program. He said once they do they can help and contribute to society again.
For those who have never been in trouble before, they may think their life is over and turn bitter.
"They think, 'I go to war for my country and this is how they treat me,'" Bennett said. "Give them a second chance."
MISSION
Bennett started his personal mission for a veterans drug court in Oklahoma in July after seeing that New York began a veterans court.
"Fortunately for me, they went through a lot of trial and error," he said of the New York program.
He mirrored the New York program, tweaking it to the Oklahoma courts system, and took his idea to the Tulsa mayor's office. Bennett works out of the FBI in Tulsa. He previously worked for the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office and worked with Tulsa authorities in fighting illegal immigration. He said he knew there are a large number of veterans in Tulsa and knew people in the court so he started there.
Bennett met with mayor's office representatives, and they got together with Veterans Affairs (VA) and started a pilot veterans drug court program in the Tulsa County court system.
He said the veterans court is built off drug courts and mental health courts that are already in place.
The VA's involvement is crucial. For vets in trouble, a judge will put them on a treatment plan and they could go through the VA for treatment and help.
Bennett envisions veterans being assigned a mentor to guide them through the court, which he said would be a working court instead of one that is adversarial. The judge presiding over the veterans court would track veterans progress, and the VA could pull data on veterans for the judge and monitor veterans in trouble.
While in a treatment program, soldiers would be drug-tested and receive mental health treatment. Troubled veterans would have to meet specific criteria to participate in the veterans court, such as not having committed a violent crime.
According to a manual about the court proposal, the program mission is to provide a means to successfully habilitate veterans by providing them with the tools they need to lead productive and law-abiding lives.
Bennett is currently in the process of talking to legislators and getting support for a program locally, across the state, and even in Arkansas.
In the long term, Bennett would like to see veterans courts started across the entire United States.
"It's going to take federal laws and legislation to make a standardized program across the U.S.," Bennett said.
Oklahoma is the fourth state in the U.S. to go forward with a veterans drug court, Bennett said, pointing to the Tulsa pilot program. Other states who have such courts are New York, Minnesota, and California.
Bennett said he plans to send information packets to Sequoyah County District Attorney Jerry Moore and Sheldon Sperling, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
He is asking citizens to contact their legislators if they support such a program locally.
"I'm saying this from experience. They train us for years and years to send us to war," he said. "We're not doing a whole lot for when they come home."
JUDGE WEIGHS IN
Sequoyah County Special District Judge Dennis Sprouse, who oversees the Sequoyah County Drug Court, said while he can't think of any veterans he has had in drug court over the years, he has encountered veterans during his career. He said most of those veterans' crimes are drug-related and relate to the veterans' service.
While Sprouse has not been approached by Bennett about a veterans drug court, Sprouse said, "I certainly understand the concept and the reasoning behind it."
He said in drug court some people have co-concurring disorders, meaning they may have a drug problem and a mental health disorder. He noted because of privacy laws, that is not openly discussed.
Many times, Sprouse encounters people who are not only drug addicts but have underlying dysfunctions because of mental health issues and they were self-medicating.
"In what we do here, I see that," he said.
Sprouse indicated that if the veterans court is addressing the underlying issue, like PTSD, they would be not just treating the symptom, but the real issue.
"I could see the benefit," he said, adding that a veterans court could be tied to federal money in order to get veterans treatment.
Sprouse said in Sequoyah County he doesn't know if the need justifies the funding. But Sprouse could see it working from a regional standpoint for rural areas, in which three to five counties could come together to support a court that was specialized.
