Aug 12, 2022 3 min read

Marisa Magnelli was a “star student” when she went through Washington County’s specialty court program and graduated with flying colors in January.

But she admitted during a short address to the program’s newest graduates Thursday that she wasn’t initially sold on going through the process, and that it took time for her to buy into what it was teaching her.

“I came in stubbornly. I was bucking the system,” she told the new graduates during the ceremony inside the Washington County Courthouse.

She admitted to taking narcotics to “heal the pain” until she was arrested in October 2019 on forgery and drug charges while working as a medical assistant for Washington Health System. She entered the program in December 2020 as a diversionary option rather going to jail, and after more than a year in the program, Magnelli said “something changed” in her as she learned its benefits by making lasting changes.

“I don’t miss being in a courtroom, but without this courtroom I would be six feet under,” Magnelli said. “Once I figured it out, I ran with it and became a better person.”

That’s exactly what President Judge John DiSalle hopes people who were convicted of crimes and eligible for the county’s Restrictive Treatment Program will react when they complete it. Rather than locking up defendants in jail over drug or alcohol issues, the treatment court helps people to fix underlying issues that plague them, such as substance abuse or mental health problems. The graduation ceremony for the 19 people who went through the program was a celebration of their hard work.

“If we treat those issues rather than locking them away, we’ll never have them come through here again,” DiSalle said.

The court provides several programs for criminal defendants struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues, offering them pathways to change their lives. The program began in 2005 as treatment court and is one of several specialty courts that offer recovery options for people after they’ve been sentenced.

The graduates sat in the jury box in DiSalle’s courtroom and listened as each of them stood at a lectern and described their experiences and how the program helped them. The audience, which included many family members, applauded after each person spoke.

Most said they would want to come back as a positive influence just like Magnelli, but all wanted to succeed so they wouldn’t have to go through the program again. Many of them also acknowledged there were “bumps in the road” during the process, but ultimately they were successful in rebuilding their lives and relationships with others.

DiSalle, who presided over the ceremony and listened to the graduates speak about their journey through the program, wore a mask and kept his distance from others after a recent close COVID-19 exposure. He stood behind the bench so he could be included in socially distanced photographs with each graduate holding his or her certificate.

“In the courthouse, there aren’t too many happy things we do,” DiSalle said. “But this is a happy occasion, and I’m happy to be presiding over it for you.”

That was Magnelli’s feeling as she has now experienced the program as a member and is now a positive role model who returned to encourage the newest graduates to keep working to improve themselves.

“You guys made it! This is not an easy thing. … Congrats. It’s a big deal,” Magnelli said. “For you, this is a new chapter, so stay strong.”