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On July 11, 2011, I returned back home to Wellsburg after a nearly 10-month long deployment in southeastern Afghanistan with the Air Force. That morning, I pulled up to my parents' house to see my family, friends, and my dog Winston, all eagerly awaiting my return. And just a few hours after that, I met the girl I would marry just a few years later. Needless to say, it was one of the best days of my life.
Unfortunately, however, not everyone coming home from a military deployment has that same experience. During the Vietnam war, many American service members came home to less than a hero's welcome. And more recently, many service members have come home to find broken marriages, strained relationships with their children, and the same kind of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that has made it difficult for several generations of veterans to obtain and maintain a career.
Unfortunately, many of those who have served our nation find themselves caught up in the criminal court system for reasons connected to their time wearing the uniform. As an assistant prosecutor in Brooke County, I saw this firsthand. From veterans of Vietnam, to those of the more recent conflicts, their problems frequently centered around mental health, substance abuse (whether it be alcohol or drugs), or anger management issues.
When I first became a prosecutor in Brooke County, the First Judicial Circuit operated a very successful Veterans' Court program geared specifically to these types of veterans. This program created a way forward other than incarceration. Veterans' Court was available to defendants whose issues were in any way connected to their time in the service, as long as they showed the potential for rehabilitation. The program helped veterans understand the cause of their problem, and also helped them find a way to get past it.
One of the hallmarks of this program was the volunteer veteran component. A veteran who wanted to help would be assigned to the defendant, in hopes that their shared experiences could help them connect in a way that others couldn't. These veteran volunteers would help guide those in the program through the system and serve as mentors.
Despite the success of the Veterans' Court program in not only the Northern Panhandle but other parts of the state as well, several years ago Allen Loughry, who was then chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court, abolished it, stating that there was no longer sufficient funding available. However, given all that we have learned about the Supreme Court's finances as a result of the impeachments and resignations of its former members (including the federal conviction of Loughry himself), that was most likely not the case.
In the almost two years since the original program was ended, I have heard from veterans groups and prosecutors around the state that there is a real need for this type of program, and that far too many veterans with service-connected issues were going through the criminal system without a fair shot at the help they deserve. In order to right that wrong, this year I introduced Senate Bill 40, which will reestablish a veterans' court program in West Virginia.
In crafting this legislation, I've worked with the newest members of our Supreme Court, judges and magistrates around West Virginia, as well as government and community veterans groups to help put together a bill that we all believe will be meaningful to veterans who need help.
In working to draft this bill, I felt that as a legislator and as a veteran, it was the least we could do to help those who have served. A real "welcome home" isn't just a handshake or sign at the airport. It's a continuing effort to ensure the wellbeing of those who carry the burdens of wars they didn't ask for. For that reason, I am hopeful that SB 40 -- which was unanimously passed by the Senate this past week -- will be enacted into law and that the process of healing some of those burdens will once again begin in our courtrooms.
Senator Weld represents the 1st Senatorial District and serves as the Senate Majority Whip and the Chair of the Senate Military Committee in the West Virginia State Senate. He commissioned into the Air Force Reserves in 2005, serving in Afghanistan in 2010-2011 as the intelligence officer to a joint Army-Air Force team located in the Zabul Province.