Oklahoma County Treatment Courts Celebrate Graduates, Lives Saved From Addiction

The Oklahoma County Treatment Courts are helping people overcome serious charges while on the path of recovery from addiction.

On Tuesday, the community of those involved in OTC celebrated those who overcame adversity. 

Over the years, OTC has saved the county more than $200 million in incarceration and court costs and graduated 1,655 people. OTC leaders say their work brings an end to cycles of addiction, and saves lives. 

Completing a journey calls for a celebration, where the past becomes a memory and people get to create a new life. Oklahoma County Judge Kenneth Stoner said he serves his community as part of OTC. 

“We all create our own futures,” Stoner said. “Most of all, you've gotta be able to dream a little.”

OTC is a diversion program that helps people recover from addiction and trauma, along with the crimes they’ve committed as a result. 

“I know firsthand how hard it is to dig yourself out of the misery we call addiction,” Christina Bolton, program coordinator of Oklahoma County Drug Court said.

Ryan Noe, who was charged with his fourth DUI after he lost his high school sweetheart to breast cancer, said alcohol was a constant in his life growing up in rural Oklahoma. 

“I just didn’t have the coping skills to deal with it all, so I turned to the only thing I knew, which was alcohol,” Noe said. 

Noe said he graduated from OTC due to his commitment to recovery. 

“Now I stand here today four hundred and eighty days sober and life could not be better,” Noe said. 

Deborah Hutcherson faced her addiction battle, and as OTC helped her recover, she said she regained relationships with her family and has built a new life. 

“One can build a better future,” Hutcherson said.

U.S. Navy veteran Edwin Emerson said he was also able to overcome his battle with alcohol through the program. 

“Today, I'm 19 months sober,” Emerson said. “There’s a better life out there.” 

Stoner said OTC offers accountability through a different lens. It shines a light on the past so people can celebrate an even brighter future.

Graduates of these programs say they have had charges reduced or dropped. Oklahoma County's Drug and DUI court graduates more than 80% of its participants.