Criminal justice officials in the midcoast are trying to develop a pilot project that would incorporate the principles of restorative justice — in which offenders focus on making amends rather than facing traditional punishment — into the region’s drug court.
That treatment court, like others around the state, already provides an alternative for people with substance use disorders who have been charged with certain crimes or probation violations. Instead of directly sentencing them to jail, it gives the participants the option to complete an intensive recovery program that includes drug tests, frequent supervision and requirements for work or schooling.
If it can get off the ground, the restorative justice pilot project would take it a step further by encouraging participants to engage with their peers and those in their life they may have harmed through their struggle with substance use disorder. It would also establish an alumni network to provide ongoing support for participants when they’re done.
Natasha Irving, the district attorney for Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties, said the program has the potential to keep more of its graduates out of prison and in the community, which is one of the court’s overarching goals.
“We want each participant to really recover. Not just not using drugs, for instance, and not commiting crimes, we want people to have a life that they can be proud of,” Irving said.
Representatives from multiple groups are working to develop the pilot project, including Kathy Durgin-Leighton, the director of the Belfast-based Restorative Justice Project Maine, and Marc Wennberg, a restorative justice consultant from the University of Vermont.
They plan to hold a meeting in early April to determine several important things, including how to pay for it, when it would start and who would lead it.
Restorative justice has already been incorporated into the justice system elsewhere in the midcoast, including at the Maine State Prison and in juvenile court programs.
One graduate of the midcoast treatment court, Crystal Cunningham, is also involved with the proposed pilot project.
Cunningham entered the treatment court in December 2022, after facing criminal charges that could have led to almost 30 years in prison. Instead, she spent four months in the treatment court and, after three years of probation, was able to get many of her charges dropped.
But when she graduated, Cunningham said she had no community or resources to help her restart her life. Now, she says she’d have benefited from connecting with a network of peers who had also gone through the program. That’s why she suggested an alumni network as part of the proposed pilot project.
“When you graduate, it’s just kind of over,” Cunningham said. “So then it’s up for you to kind of figure out what you’re going to do, and continue in the progress and the steps that you’ve made.”