News

Late community activist still making a difference

By Jeff Kurowski
Compass Assistant Editor

	Public forum to be held April 8 JOSHUA will host a public forum in support of a drug treatment court for Brown County at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, in the Fr. Ken DeGroot Community Center, St. Willebrord Parish, 209 S. Adams, Green Bay. For more information, visit www.joshua4justice.org.

GREEN BAY -- Movement for justice reform is under way in Brown County, and is inspired by a former resident, who was an expert on restorative justice.

Dennis Maloney, who died of a heart attack on Feb. 6, 2007, in Bend, Ore. believed that true justice demanded more than shipping convicted criminals off to jail or prison. The Green Bay native, who spent 30 years working in corrections, including 16 years leading the juvenile justice system in Deschutes County, Ore., refused to allow offenders to sit in cells all day.

Instead, Maloney, a graduate of Premontre High School in Green Bay, put inmates to work building Habitat for Humanity homes and cutting firewood for homebound seniors. Juvenile offenders had to meet the people whose homes they vandalized or the owners of the stores they burglarized.

Maloney was president of Community Justice Associates at the time of his death at age 55. His programs have been implemented in 30 states and family members in Green Bay hope to continue his justice reform mission. His mother, Carol Maloney, and sister, Mary McDonald, wrote a letter to Judge Donald Zuidmulder in support of a drug and alcohol court in Brown County.

"Dennis really hoped to see treatment instead of prison come to Brown County," said McDonald, a member of St. Bernard Parish in Green Bay. "Judge Zuidmulder said he had been waiting 18 months for a letter like ours. He encouraged us to go ahead and set up a public forum."

JOSHUA (Justice Organization Sharing Hope and United Action) will host a public forum in support of a drug treatment court for Brown County on April 8 at St. Willebrord Parish. Panel members will include Zuidmulder; Judges Scott Woldt and Barbara Key, both of Winnebago County; Cynthia Running, a graduate of the Winnebago County drug court program; Fr. Paul Demuth, diocesan vicar for ministers; and a representative from Faith Tabernacle Church in Green Bay who will discuss racial disparity in drug sentencings.

Drug treatment courts are not for violent offenders and drug dealers. The emphasis is to keep drug possession defendants out of jail by requiring regular urine analysis, court appearances, treatment, counseling, employment and community service. Running will share her story at the forum.

"I don't have anything to hide," she said. "I had a drug problem for 30 years. It started out with pot when I was 14 or 15 years old. I then got into cocaine. I lost my mom and turned to drugs. I thought I was the worst person in the world.

"I graduated from the Winnebago County drug court in August of 2007," she continued. "Judge Woldt and Judge Key are amazing. They care about you as a person. They saved my life."

Drug court opponents suggest the program goes easy on crime, a notion Running strongly refutes.

"I had a calendar that was full with everything I had to do," she said "It's tough. You are held accountable. If you don't show up, you go to jail. There are no excuses. If your car breaks down and you cannot make it to court, you go to jail. I lived by that calendar. It helps you learn structure."

Offenders must find their own employment and community service opportunities. Running continues to volunteer for Beaming Inc. in Neenah, which provides therapeutic horseback riding for individuals with physical, emotional, and behavioral disabilities.

The forum is designed to educate city and county officials as well the public, said Lois Pulvermacher, chairperson of the JOSHUA TIP (treatment instead of prison) Committee.

"There are residual effects from this program that benefit the community," said Pulvermacher. "There are fewer people in foster care because fewer parents are being incarcerated, so it helps families. It takes a little bit of a startup cost, but it's a good program that is making a difference. There are currently 15 drug courts in Wisconsin. Two years ago, there were approximately 1,500 in the United States. Today, there are nearly 2,000, so it continues to grow. We hope the forum can increase awareness."

Running said the program saved many of the relationships with her family including her children, her granddaughter, and her two brothers, who work in law enforcement.

"My father doesn't speak to me, which is really hard" she said. "I am so thankful for the support from my brothers. Your family is involved in it all. I came from a really nice background. That shows that it can happen to anyone. I feel there are a lot of people out there like me. I think we are good people. I think we all deserve a chance."