When most people get into trouble for the first time, or even for something new, they understandably worry about what they’re about to face. It seems like every crime show depicts the only options being stiff penalties or turning over valuable information in the hopes of cutting a deal for an easier sentence. This is not necessarily how it works. There are other options.

Depending upon the charge you face, there may be alternative sentencing options that don’t include the harsh punishment of going to prison. These opportunities are not necessarily easy, but they could give you the chance to have your life back in less time, offering more potential to put yourself on the right path. Hiring a good criminal defense attorney to negotiate for one of these lesser sentences is well worth while.

What is the Community Corrections Program?

The Community Corrections Program was formed to answer the need to reduce non-violent felony offenders from overcrowding Tennessee’s prisons. Participants have a higher success rate than with incarceration with half of those sentenced completing the program, and less than 10% becoming repeat offenders more than one year out. The benefits of these programs are widespread and include:

• Offering local courts increased sentencing options
• Assisting victims with collecting restitution
• Providing local governments some assistance using public service opportunities
• Reduces tax costs for the citizens and businesses of Tennessee

While you remain under supervision, you would be able to complete your sentence at home while continuing to carry out your daily responsibilities such as:

• Maintaining employment, which provides the opportunity to continue supporting yourself or your family.
• Attending mandated treatment programs, which will help you regain control over the feelings or triggers that pushed you into your current situation with an eye on preventing a recurrence.
• Allowing you to steer clear of a prison environment that may fail to provide the proper tools to help you avoid future legal troubles.

Is drug court an alternative to prison?

There are other available forms of pretrial diversion, also known as suspended prosecution. These programs will not be available to everyone charged with a crime, as in Tennessee pretrial diversion is restricted to misdemeanors and not allowed for DUI. However, diversionary sentences are fantastic options if you are able to show the court that it would be more beneficial in your case to engage in one of these offerings rather than being incarcerated. One pretrial diversion program is drug court.

Certain crimes related to substance abuse are recognized as needing treatment rather than punishment. But for the substance abuse problem, many of these crimes wouldn’t have occurred and a court may choose to give you the benefit of the doubt in that respect instead of ruining a life that can be turned around with proper support.

Drug Court is a form of what the state calls Recovery Courts, and they have been very successful in helping those charged with drug crimes to treat their disease, which has had other positive effects on their lives aside from just staying out of jail. As you might assume, the benefit of a recovery court sentence doesn’t just help you; it also helps the state by saving money by keeping you out of a prison cell or repeating the behavior that is likely to send you back.

Other recovery courts Tennessee has created include:

• Juvenile recovery has the same goal as adult drug court but for children experiencing alcohol or substance abuse problems.
• Family treatment is for adults with alcohol or substance abuse problems, which have trickled down to the family resulting in a child being abused or neglected.
• DUI court is another process by which the judicial system attempts to offer treatment options to and close monitoring of repeat DUI offenders with the goal of improving public safety by treating the underlying issues causing them to drive while intoxicated.

Being charged with a drug crime doesn’t have to mean your life is ruined. With the right defense team on your side, it is possible to minimize or even eliminate the serious repercussions that can make life hard moving forward by availing yourself of any possible alternate sentencing options.

To learn whether you may qualify for any of these programs, schedule your free case consultation with the Sevierville criminal defense attorneys at Delius & McKenzie, PLLC by calling 865-297-4425, or please feel free to reach out to us through our contact page. We are honored to serve clients in Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Seymour, Gatlinburg, and the surrounding areas in Tennessee.