The photos of Trudy Dowler above are from her two previous jail photos, and the final one taken by Ridgeview at her hearing on Thursday.
Trudy Ellen Dowler appeared before Judge Anita Harold Ashley on April 6th, 2023 with Attorney David Richardson, and Nigel Jeffries, Prosecutor. Her appearance was set for further sentencing from her November 10, 2022 plea, when Dowler had admitted to violating the terms and conditions of her probation. For the 2nd time. Based on that admission, her probation was revoked and she was sentenced to not less than one, nor more than five years in prison for her prior conviction of Conspiracy to Commit a Felony and further referred to the G.O.A.L.S. Program. The G.O.A.L.S. Program is an addiction recovery program for inmates which takes six to nine months to complete. During that time, inmates are sectioned off inside the jail focusing on recovery alongside those experiencing the same struggles.
To participate in that program, Dowler was taken from Central Regional to Western Regional Jail in Barboursville, West Virginia, but later decided she did not want to follow through with the G.O.A.L.S. Program. Ms. Dowler told Judge Ashley that she had been unclear that the program was essential to her plea, and thought that it was optional. During her court statement to Judge Ashley she said that she did not want to continue the program because there was no structure and that she only received twenty minutes a day with the program coordinator, believing it to be un-beneficial and someone needed to look into how Western Regional Jail ran their program.
Judge Ashley encouraged Dowler to work on her recovery but due to her withdrawal from the GOALS program she imposed the original 1-5 year sentence.
Following her plea, Ridgeview News had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Dowler regarding her comments about her rehabilitation experience. She was very candid and open about the mistakes and bad decisions that had lead to her incarceration. It’s not her first time dealing with rehabilitation saying that “it works if you have the support you need and you use it,” which is where she said she failed (by not using the support she had in place). She emphasized again and again the need for rehabilitation for inmates to have success once they’re on the outside. And yet she chose to withdraw from GOALS. In regards to the program in the Western Regional Jail she said that the instructor was seldom there, and although they were provided workbooks, which helped, it wasn’t enough.
When I asked what the instructor did, Ms, Dowler said that she had multiple duties at the facility and put the lesser time into the GOALS program. She said she had watched the GOALS Program that was available to the women at the Central Regional Jail, and was very impressed with the compassion and commitment that the program coordinator there put into inmates by building trust and following them through their sentence and court appearances. Inmates appeared to have more time in the program and less time to be left alone to watch TV, which is what Ms. Dowler said happened most often at the Western Regional Jail. It was unclear as to why she was not allowed to participate in the Central Regional Jail program, but perhaps it was because there are only so many slots open in each facility.
Following her removal from G.O.A.L.S, she was once again transferred back to Central Regional Jail.
Another aspect of the program was for the new members of the GOALS program to be provided mentors. Those were other inmates in the facility that were further along in the program. Ms. Dowler said that his was not always conducive to rehabilitation either and needed to be monitored more closely.
A Central Regional Jail Corrections Officer that stood beside us as I interviewed Ms. Dowler, sang the praises of the Program Coordinator at Central Regional Jail.
Trudy Dowler could be anyone’s friend, cousin, sister or daughter. She has a Bachelor’s degree that she would love to put into practice when she complete’s her sentence. She has people in her life who care and she knows she has the tools to be a success. Time will tell, and Ridgeview prays it’s true!
After the interview with Ms. Dowler, I spoke with Alicia Lawson, Probation Officer for Calhoun Circuit Court. Alicia works closely with defendants, their rehab and recovery and is very involved in reporting the successes and failures back to the court. I asked her about Ms. Dowler’s comments and what her experience had been with the program at Western Regional Jail. She responded by telling me that she had four very successful inmates come through the program without incident.
What the cause of disconnect for Ms. Dowler was, is not certain, but one thing was clear, incarceration alone is not the answer.
Key statistics on the website prisonpolicy.org stated that:
- The Percent of people released in 2005 who were re-arrested within 3 years: 68% +
- Average number of requirements that people on probation must comply with per day, or face re-arrest: 18 to 20 +
- Unemployment rate among formerly incarcerated people: 27% +
- Percent of formerly incarcerated people without a high school diploma, GED, or college degree: 25% +
- Rate of homelessness or housing insecurity among formerly incarcerated people: 5,700 per 100,000 +
- Percent of people with 2 or more arrests per year who have incomes below $10,000: 49%. Who are unemployed: 15%+
- The strongest predictor for recidivism: poverty +
Rates such as those listed above is why it’s important to Aaron Spaur and the 1982 Foundation to create the Recovery Center for Calhoun and for the Community to Support it. The former bus garage is now being converted into a space for those in Recovery to meet and find connections to help. Even though Ms. Dowler will return to her home county of Wood when released, she said she would do so because she knew the people in her community that could help her stay clean.
Calhoun FRN Provides wonderful resources for people who struggle with addiction. The Chess connections app is a Recovery Mobile Unit, which offers lessons and social connections like Facebook for Recovery. The Quick Response Team will also help people get into treatment or recovery bed (short or long term). Contact Tina Persinger at Calhoun FRN for more information. Their phone is 304-377-7177.
