Kansas Governor Sam Brownback is doing something fairly progressive—he has announced a faith based mentoring program for parolees as they leave prison. Called Out4Life, the program seeks to match former inmates with role models within the community in an effort to drive down recidivism rates and provide support for those recently released.

He announced this week that the program would need 5,000 volunteers each year to make the program a success—quite the lofty request considering the stigma attached to former inmates.

According to the Kansas City Star, Out4Life has already been adopted in 12 other states, though it isn’t clear if those states have been able to keep up with the sheer volume of paroled inmates. The program was created by the Prison Fellowship, a Christian organization.

The governor is calling on local businesses and churches to join in in supporting the program, which is to be funded mostly by the state. The idea is that the program will save expenses in the long run, reducing recidivism and the cost of re-incarcerating offenders for parole violations or new crimes. The current recidivism rate in Kansas sends 40% of those released from prison back to prison within 3 years.

Critics are concerned that the program will push Christianity on parolees when what they need is a secular support system that respects their current beliefs without trying to sell the gospel. Pat Nolan, a vice president with the Prison Fellowship, states “We give them the goodness of the gospel,” without requiring they adhere to Christianity to take advantage of the benefits of the program.

Other groups already within the community plan on assisting with the implementation of the new program. The Gracious Promise Foundation has been assisting inmates in a similar manner throughout Wyandotte and Johnson counties for several years and sees that its knowledge of community contacts could assist in the recruitment of mentors.

Critics do have a valid point—what about the parolees who are not Christian and do not want to hear the “goodness of the gospel” as they try to put their life on track. No doubt there are many cases of successful transitions among inmates who do not practice Christianity and so these teachings perhaps shouldn’t be a requirement (or even present) when trying to get help.

Of course they say their adherence to Christian principles is not “required” to take part of the benefits of the program, but the presence of those principles could steer some parolees away from the program altogether.

Community support for parolees and even probationers is essential in keeping them from reoffending. Without the proper resources, there’s no incentive to stay crime-free and out of jail. But for many, probation offers the chance to serve a sentence without jail time and without all of the headaches that go along with being in custody.

If you’re facing criminal charges and are curious about your options. Or if you are facing a probation revocation hearing, I may be able to help. Contact me today for a consultation on your case.

Seventeen percent of those booked into the Johnston County jail are mentally ill. That according to a recent 19 month study. While most people know an underfunded public mental health system can cause a greater number of inmates with mental health problems, there’s usually little in the way of hard facts and numbers to support that—at least locally.

The study involved a cooperative effort from law enforcement, the DA, corrections, and mental health experts, according to the Kansas City Star. The 19 month study has been “designated a national demonstration” by the U.S. Justice Department.

The report makes nearly 40 recommendations to reduce incarceration of the mentally ill and to provide greater resources. Thos come at a cost, however, and one that’s not in the current budgets. Some, however, will be funded with new federal grants, according to the Star.

Among those recommendations are greater cooperation between the justice system and the health system in the local area. One specific suggestion involves a therapeutic community at the jail, or a specific housing unit for those who require additional mental health and substance abuse counseling.

The study also recommends additional training for police officers and others within the law enforcement community. This is especially important as dealing with someone who has mental health issues requires tact and special training in order to diffuse potentially dangerous situations.

Even dispatchers are included in this recommendation as they are often the first point of contact for someone struggling with their mental health. They can offer the first attempts at controlling a situation before it gets out of hand and before law enforcement arrive on the scene.

We see more of the mentally ill having encounters with police and the courts lately as the state has been forced to cut mental health programming monies, slashing millions across the board over the past few years.

The study has a goal of seeing better treatment for the mentally ill both before they enter the system and while they are incarcerated. With each step like this the justice community and Kansas City community as a whole casts aside a bit of the stigma associated with mental illness and begins to see it as a treatable health issue.

The report found that about 30% of bookings over the last five years had received some mental health services from the county mental health system. This means if you are going before a judge for to face criminal charges in Kansas, there’s a reasonable chance you have too.

Mental illness certainly doesn’t mean you can mount an insanity defense to your crime, that sort of defense can be extremely difficult to litigate. However, it is one possibility.

More likely than that, however, is the chance that your introduction into the legal system could afford you the opportunity to get some help for the mental health issues you struggle with. Whether your defense lawyer can work out something with the prosecution involving mental health treatment or simply relaying your struggles to the court in an effort to gain some understanding, your diagnosis can play a role in your case.

Have a court date in Johnson County? You will soon be able to expect a reminder phone call ahead of time. No, the county isn’t just doing this to be nice and help you manage your schedule; they are instead using a system modeled after similar programs elsewhere to hopefully cut back on the number being held in the local jail.

The message may be a recording or a live person reading from a script, pleasantly alerting you to your upcoming court date. They will also inform you of what will happen if you fail to appear—a warrant will be issued. The County hopes this small step will mean less missed court dates and therefore fewer residents in the jail.

The new calling system isn’t the only measure being taken, however. Officials are considering putting a population cap on the local jail—setting a maximum amount of beds that can be used to hold pretrial detainees.

This same system has been used by a few jurisdictions across the country with some pretty good success. Jail populations have dropped and there’s been no increase in risk to the public; judges are simply being more cautious in who is locked up and who is released.

Combining these measures seems to be a recipe for success. Contrary to what people think, the vast majority of “failure to appear” cases are based in a simple oversight on the defendant’s part. It’s rare that someone facing criminal charges misses court in an effort to flee from the law.

When you are cited for court and have to wait several months, it’s easy to forget a court date. Once you realize it’s passed and that you likely have a warrant out for your arrest, then you may be tempted to “stay out of sight” or somehow hope to avoid an arrest.

When you miss a court date, the best thing you can do is speak with your defense attorney. Discussing the best way to handle your warrant and the criminal charges you were originally facing, you may realize that running from the law definitely can’t make anything better.

Your warrant won’t simply “go away” with time. The court system won’t forget about you. If you are facing criminal charges or have a warrant out for your arrest, contact me today to discuss your case.

As this report from KSHB Action News details, the Johnson County prosecutor is seeing an upswing in criminal cases that involve text messages. Just like letters or telephone calls can be used as evidence, so can these common little blurbs.

Everyone is texting these days and often people don’t think about the words they are typing. Text message transcripts have so far been used in domestic violence cases where the messages constituted a threat to another person.

As Matthew Bergel from the Overland Park Police Department states, “Anytime a message rises to the point where somebody is feeling threatened, or there is a threat against someone specifically, it would rise to the level of a crime.” This is true for text messages, emails and even facsimiles.

This means that text messages also cross the lines of many protection orders. If you have a restraining order taken out against you, texting the protected person could be a violation of the court order. You could even be charged with stalking if your text messages put someone in fear of their own safety.

Bottom line is, think about your actions. Text messages may seem harmless but they can end up as evidence against you in a court of law. Don’t text anything you would be wary of saying. In a court of law your words, whether typed or spoken, carry a lot of weight.

If you face charges in a domestic violence case or a stalking case in Kansas, I can certainly help. As a common fixture in the Johnson County criminal courts, I know what you are facing and can assist you in determining the best defense strategy.

Call me today to discuss the details of your case.