The Strange ‘Tough Love’ of Judge Amamda Williams
He tells us about Judge Amanda Williams in Glynn County, Georgia, which is also where my spouse grew up and where our son was born. We personally know some of the people involved in this story. Judge Williams has a …different…approach to drug courts then what is taken as the national standard as reported by Ira Glass.
Take the case of Lindsey Dills:
“… the story of Lindsey Dills, who forges two checks on her parents’ checking account when she’s 17, one for $40 and one for $60, and ends up in drug court for five and a half years, including 14 months behind bars, and then she serves another five years after that—six months of it in Arrendale State Prison, the other four and a half on probation.
…
For violating drug court rules, Lindsey not only does jail terms of 51 days, 90 days and 104 days, Judge Williams sends her on what she calls an “indefinite sentence,” where she did not specify when Lindsey would get out.”
You read that correctly. The judge has been sending people to jail for “indefinite sentence” for various infractions of drug court…including questioning her or annoying her. Indefinite means…indefinite. Months.
Lindsey was sent directly to punitive isolation where she was denied medical care, letters or any contact with anybody at all, including her parents or legal counsel. After several months of complete isolation, she tried to commit suicide. The treating physician was outraged that she was being held in solitary without access to her prescribed medications, but to little avail.
She is still in jail as of now…for 100 dollars she took from her father years ago.
She might appreciate a card from the lizard community. Her address is at the link. She also is far from the only person to experience Judge Williams’ brand of drug court justice. Follow the link here and listen for yourself.
Then, decide what you are willing to do about this. This isn’t in Syria or a banana republic. This is happening right here, and right now to people like Kim Spread. It needs to stop.
