Before entering drug court in 2016, Richard Morrison Jr. said all he had ever known was "drug addiction and chaos."
"I grew up in a house of drug addicts and alcoholics," Morrison said. "Constant arguing and physical fights were normal occurrences in my everyday life in my childhood. I was not shown any other way to live and had no idea how to show any other emotion besides anger."
In a written account of his experience with drug court, he described a difficult journey of overcoming his addiction to become a loving family man with a good job. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this fall, the Conasauga Circuit Drug Court shared several of its success stories with the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Terry Sosebe is the coordinator of the drug court, presided over by Judge Jim Wilbanks.
An 18- to 24-month program, drug court is an alternative to a prison sentence, Sosebe said. Participants meet with the judge weekly and also participate in group therapy sessions. Mistakes and relapses can send participants back to jail, he said.
"We tell people when they first apply that this is going to be one of the hardest things they'll ever do," Sosebe said in a phone interview. "But we'll be there to help them along the way."
Held in Dalton's Edwards Park in May, the 85th graduation of the drug court celebrated five people's completion of the program. Their stories all share struggle, fear of death and hope for a better life beyond drugs. One graduate encouraged participants to surrender to the program, trust the process, take time for self work and let the drug court staff help.
Morrison said that in August of 2016 he was facing a nine-year sentence with no chance of parole after 10 years of selling drugs, doing drugs and multiple stints in jail. His lawyer told him about drug court - but warned it was not going to be easy. Even Morrison's cellmates told him not to choose drug court unless he was going to take it seriously.
Photo contributed by Whitfield County / A photograph of Trista Morrison shows her before she married Richard Morrison Jr.(READ MORE: New Georgia drug court to begin this fall)
"Knowing my children would be almost adults in nine years, I was willing to try anything," Morrison said. In December 2016, Morrison entered drug court. He graduated on May 23, 2019, after a difficult journey.
Looking back at his early days in drug court, Morrison said he wasn't used to structure but knew he needed it. In his first week, he said he was sanctioned to 24 hours in jail for being late to a meeting.
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Morrison said he struggled with wanting to succeed and doing the work the program required. But his biggest struggle, he said, was asking for help. He said he recognized that he used drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of being molested by a relative - pain he had no idea of how to process.
Halfway through the program, he earned a warning that he could be sanctioned by the court over his failure to participate fully.
"I wasn't opening up and doing the work I needed to be doing in order to grow and learn," Morrison said. "This was my turning point."
From then on he started being willing to talk about his sexual trauma, Morrison said, and opened up in the group setting.
"This allowed me to begin asking for help and more importantly, offering help," he said.
Towards the end of the program, he said he found his church, was baptized and became an active member. Morrison also repaired his credit and bought his first home.
Morrison's wife Trista, who was his girlfriend at the time, entered a recovery program called the Women's Outreach in Rome, Georgia. After she completed that program, Trista Morrison started working with the drug court so she could be reunited with Richard Morrison and their son Richard Morrison III (also known as Big Boy) in a healthy family setting.
Photo contributed by Whitfield County / Richard Morrison Jr. and his wife Trista have come a long way in their lives, and Richard credits the intervention of the Conasauga Circuit Drug Court. The drug court is celebrating its 20th anniversary this fall.In December 2017, a no-contact order was fully lifted and Trista Morrison was allowed to move into the home Richard Morrison bought, reuniting the family. On May 13, 2018, Richard and Trista Morrison were married.
Richard Morrison said he will be six years clean in August, and Trista Morrison was five years clean in January. His main goals while in the program were to learn how to be a better man, get his family back together, fix his credit to buy a house and continue to advance in his career with Shaw Industries, Whitfield County's flooring manufacturer.
Richard Morrison said he accomplished all the goals he set and that drug court was a life-changing experience for him.
"The staff care," he said. "And if you put in the effort and work, there is an amazing life waiting for the next drug addict that chooses it."
Without the drug court, Richard Morrison said he believes he would either be dead or in prison. Instead, he said he's a hard worker and a loving father to three amazing children. He said he recently won custody of Kelsey, 17, and Logan, 12, his children from a previous marriage. They both live with Richard, Trista, and Big Boy, who is now 9 years old.
When people ask how he's doing, he said he answers: "Better than I deserve."
"I am still learning and we still have struggles, but I am grateful that now we know how to face them and live our lives," Richard Morrison said.
The Conasauga Judicial Circuit includes two counties: Murray and Whitfield. The circuit has four accountability courts: the drug court started in 2002; a domestic violence court started in 2014; a mental health court started in 2018; and a parental accountability court started in 2017.
For more information on the Conasauga Circuit Drug Court call 706-281-4811.
The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, which covers Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties, also has a drug court started in 2017. For more information on that court, call 706-639-0899.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @tweetatwilkins.