ROCHESTER — Daulton Conley had been battling drug addiction for some time.
He was accepted into Fulton County Drug Court where he struggled with the program at first, but said after awhile he realized: “I’ve got an opportunity here to change my life.”
“It really did: it saved my life through the program,” he said.
Fulton County’s court was certified in 2020, with the first person graduating from in 2021. Through it, those facing substance-related charges complete a number of objectives in exchange for lesser punishments.
“It’s to address their underlying problems they have when coming into the criminal justice system, to address those to where they’re not coming back into the criminal justice system,” said Fulton County Superior Court Judge Greg Heller.
He’s part of the board overseeing the program, with other members consisting of: Prosecutor Mike Marrs, Deputy Prosecutor Rachel Arndt, Chief Public Defender MacKenzie Breitenstein, Chief Probation Officer Andy Holland, Probation Officer Todd Hudkins, and 4C Health Assistant Director of Criminal Justice and Peer Recovery Services Becky Clark.
Heller said he wanted to establish a court when he was first running for election in 2018.
“(Fulton Circuit Court) Judge (Christopher) Lee really worked with Andy to really get the groundwork laid in preparation for that before I even got into office,” said Heller.