From Addiction to Accountability: A Path Forward for Washington

The leniency in Washington’s judicial system was recently displayed by the repeat offender (36 arrests and 20 convictions) who killed a 20-year-old woman as he attempted to flee police in Pierce County. Despite serving numerous short sentences in his life, the suspect clearly has never been “rehabilitated.”  It appears he views his many brief lockups as mere inconveniences to his criminal lifestyle.

This tragedy can serve as a turning point in how we view our corrections system. While progressive politicians dilute sentencing requirements so they become only an “inconvenience” to the criminal, we should instead view serving time as a chance to break from destructive behaviors and learn life skills. This new path often starts with addiction treatment and abstinence from drugs/alcohol..

In late September, ChangeWA contributor Ginny Burton invited members of the public to observe the operations of the Overhaul–Unrelenting Transfiguration (O-UT) Program at the Olympic Corrections Facility just south of Forks. Ginny founded the treatment-based program, based on her lived experiences and what finally ended the cycle of addiction and incarceration in her life.

(If you are not familiar with Ginny’s inspirational story, you should watch this report from KOMO’s Eric Johnson.)

The successful prison program promotes the importance of drug/alcohol abstinence and provides support both inside and outside of prison. It also seeks to educate inmates on important life skills such as employment readiness, financial literacy, and healthy relationship building.

The impact of addiction in our criminal system is similar to its impact on the homelessness crisis where 75% of unsheltered adults admit they have substance issues. 80% of criminals abuse drugs/alcohol and 50% of all inmates are clinically addicted. This is why abstinence-based treatment is the centerpiece of the O-UT Program.

The program had about 30 people in it. As guests filed into the room, the prison inmates greeted people with a smile, handshake, and appropriate introduction. For those not knowing what to expect, it was refreshing to exchange just a basic introductory greeting –something that rarely exists in many other places today.

The group was so friendly and positive, and you almost forgot they were in the facility for serious crimes. Of those 30 people, most were in prison for killing someone.

Most members of the public who are moderate or conservative, tend to support “law and order” when it comes to public safety policies. We believe we should have clear laws defining crime, law enforcement that is fair but unyielding in its enforcement, and a judicial system that applies the prescribed sentences quickly and consistently.

We also want a judicial system where, once a person pays their debt for a crime, we give them every opportunity to turn away from criminality and put them on a path to being a productive member of society. And that’s at the heart of the O-UT program that Ginny implements.

One thing is apparent right away: each participant has accepted responsibility for the action that landed them in prison and shown remorse for it. Like a 12-step or other rehabilitation programs, a person must start with admitting their role, and only then do they have the power and ability to address their shortfalls with clarity and rigorous work.

Many of the participants took to the mic and described why they were in prison, how they came to the program, and their goals beyond prison. Their remarks were reflective, accountable, and motivated, delivered with unwavering clarity. You would be hard-pressed to remember that you’re in a room with serious criminal offenders.

Most important is the results. Of the 23 released participants, only one has reoffended, and he’s working to re-enter the program. The graduates are attending schools (including the University of Washington), becoming skilled welders and fabricators, working as peer counselors, and—critically—reuniting with their families.

So, how is the O-UT Program experience connected to the serious (and never-ending) homelessness, drug, and crime crises that we face in Washington?

Comments on repeat offenders from one of the mayoral candidates at a debate last week made many people cringe. Stating he has “no desire to put them in jail” because of possible childhood issues, demonstrates how misguided progressive policies harm the community and fails to help the repeat offender.

Plain and simple, a repeat offender hasn’t been “rehabilitated.” Incarceration is meant to be both a way to keep the community safe from criminal acts by separating perpetrators and to REHABILITATE the criminal. Sentences should be fair, timely, and just, giving justice to the community for the act, but also helping the criminal change his or her ways. The more serious the crime, the longer the sentence to allow for creating space from whatever influences may have contributed to the crime and reflection on the act.

It certainly seemed that during their 15–30-year sentences, the inmates we visited had recognized their responsibility in the act and developed a sense that they want to do better for themselves and their families once on the outside. If it’s merely a slap on the wrist, where the sentence isn’t serious, you’ll never achieve that internal recognition.

Going “easy” on criminals often breeds repeat offenders – as is the case with the man who killed the 20-year-old woman fleeing police. Imagine if among his 20 short sentences he had received at least one meaningful sentence focused on rehabilitation and had taken on the mantle of responsibility.  That woman would be alive today.

And that’s why many have issues with the candidate’s lenient comments on repeat offenders. Progressive virtue signaling reached fever pitch in the summer of 2020 and is now firmly established in Democratic and Progressive political leadership. They believe too many people of color are accused of crimes in our community, and this proves that our society and systems are racist. We then must implement a policy, out of racial equity to ensure they are not punished.

This belief aims at the wrong problem, and we will never make progress using it to keep our community safe.

Criminal activity is often born out of poverty, to be sure, but that poverty is usually a circumstance of the broken family and lack of positive influences pushing kids toward a righteous life. Allowing them to continue toward self-destruction without intervention will only perpetuate the cycle.

And that’s where O-UT can be a powerful influence, and there’s little doubt, Ginny Burton has huge credibility from her own life experience. It gives those who have accepted responsibility AND embraced the agency to change a real chance. It’s not easy, and it’s no magic formula. It’s hard truth and a lot of work. However, most things in life are like that. People who support a society of “law and order” can support and embrace an effort like this to make a real difference.