First graduation held for Gibson County Veterans Court
TRENTON, Tenn. — The Gibson County Veterans Court held its first graduation on Monday.
The Gibson County Veterans Court is a special court that aims for nonviolent law offenders that served in the United States military to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.
After these veterans are found guilty of a crime, they can apply for veterans court. Once in the care of the Veterans Court, they will undergo a year long to 18 month program to rehabilitate them.
This court aims to keep veterans out of prison. To qualify, veterans had to be diagnosed with a military-related trauma, substance abuse issues, or PTSD.
“It’s a voluntary program in which they come in and they are entered in a program that focuses on rehabilitation, restoration. It focuses on their medical needs, their physical needs, their psychological needs. We work directly with the VA and local providers to get them treatment, to get them resources,” said Stacy Miller, the Gibson County Veterans Court Coordinator.
Monday, the court held their first graduation. The court graduated three members with varying charges after successfully completing the course and passing numerous drug tests.
“So when they come into our program, the jail will assess them to see if they’ve ever served, and they will make a referral to our program. We will go and meet with that veteran and see if they meet criteria. And at that time, if they meet criteria and they want to volunteer to do the program, we meet with our district attorney’s office for them to transition them from normal court into our Veterans Court,” Miller said.
Judge Bradley Owens was appointed Judge of the Veterans Court in August of 2022. And on his 75th day as Veterans Court judge, he too celebrated these three individuals for their completion of the course.
“We have three veterans that are graduating today that have come into court with various criminal charges. You know, I was able to follow them. I was involved even a year ago when the program began,” Owens said. “And to be able to follow their progress, and see how far they’ve come, and see what they’ve been through, and being drug free, and doing different things, and all the work they put in, that just makes it part of it.”
This court is one of four Veterans Courts in West Tennessee. This graduation will become an annual event every Monday after Veterans Day.
Find more news out of Gibson County here.
