An Upside to Jail?

Submitted by Angieboss Tue 11/30/2010

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Now serving six months after making headlines in her South Dakota community for allegedly leading police on a high-speed, booze-fueled chase and taking at least $20,000 from a client trust account, a former Sioux Falls lawyer says she is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

After admitting her criminal conduct and facing up to her addiction and depression issues, Mary Ann Giebink says she is feeling much better about her life and seeing a positive side to her time in jail in Minnehaha County, according to the Argus Leader.

"I was dying inside. This is like freedom," she told the newspaper earlier this month. "There's no secrecy anymore. How freeing is that? Everybody knows me for who I am now."

While I am always leery of jailhouse conversions, there is a certain irony that sometimes jail is a lifesaver for those of us who struggle with addiction. While it is possible to gain access to all manner of substances behind bars, it is substantially more difficult. I have known a number of people who were sober for the first time in their adult lives for any period of time simply because jail forced them to be.

If jail can he helpful - how can we imitate or use that power without being forced into incarceration?

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