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When “Tough On Crime” Fails People Like Adena
Walk into any criminal courtroom and you will see the same pattern repeat: people struggling with addiction, untreated trauma and serious mental health problems are processed through a system built for punishment, not healing.
Criminal defence lawyer William V. Pernik, host of the podcast Counselor Beyond Conventional Defense, has seen this up close over almost twenty years of practice across multiple California counties. He estimates that 50 to 75 percent of defendants in court on any given day have a substance use or mental health issue, yet only a fraction of resources are devoted to addressing those root causes.
The result is predictable: short term sentences, revolving door incarceration and families who lose hope.
One former client, Adena, shows what happens when the system fails, and what is possible when a lawyer takes a very different approach.
A Hidden Story Behind The “Drug Addict” Label
From the outside, Adena looked like what many people picture when they think of addiction. She cycled in and out of jail, lived on the streets, used heroin and later fentanyl, and had been to nearly thirty different treatment facilities.
What no one saw at first was the trauma underneath.
Adena grew up in an ultra orthodox religious community on the East Coast. Her father is a respected rabbi and community leader, her mother a teacher. Behind the polished public image, Adena endured severe emotional pain and sexual abuse that was never reported or addressed. The message she absorbed as a child was simple and devastating: what happened to her did not matter, and she was not worth protecting.
By thirteen she had left home, was drinking and experimenting with drugs, and felt deeply uncomfortable in her own skin. When she first used heroin at seventeen, she described it as the first time she could “breathe” and feel at ease. That sense of relief came at a brutal cost. Years later, fentanyl entered the picture, bringing higher tolerance, more risk and repeated overdoses.
Like many people with long term addiction, Adena did not simply “choose” a life on the streets. She was trying to numb unprocessed trauma, intense anxiety and a crushing sense of worthlessness. The crimes that brought her into court were symptoms, not the core problem.
Jail Is Not Treatment
A common myth in criminal justice is that jail keeps people safe and away from drugs. Adena’s experience destroys that illusion.
She explains that in women’s jails there is often a thriving underground drug economy. Meth, pills and even fentanyl circulate inside. Payment is handled through outside cash transfers and commissary accounts. For many women, including Adena, it is entirely possible to stay high while facing serious charges and court dates.
In other words, simply locking someone up does not address addiction. It often adds new layers of trauma, fear and hypervigilance, while leaving the original wounds untouched.
A Different Kind Of Defence: Asking “Why Is This Person Here?”
When Adena’s parents first contacted William Pernik about her case, the focus, as usual, was on drugs and criminal charges. Pernik took a different view.
Instead of seeing “just another addict,” he saw a young woman whose history screamed untreated trauma and post traumatic stress. He knew that if the legal strategy focused only on getting her out quickly, she would simply return to the same cycle.
Pernik used the three step process he has now formalised for every case in his firm:
- Identify the real reasons behind the behaviour.
Through repeated meetings, careful listening and the involvement of a private trauma therapist, he worked to understand Adena’s childhood abuse, religious pressure, anxiety and long history of failed treatments. - Develop a professional solution.
Rather than relying on yet another generic programme, he and his team sought out dual diagnosis treatment that could address both addiction and complex trauma, and pushed to line this up before asking the court for release. - Targeted solution advocacy in court.
Pernik did not simply ask for leniency. He presented the court with a concrete plan supported by expert opinions and evidence of Adena’s willingness to engage. He argued for mental health diversion and treatment as a smarter, safer alternative to a standard sentence.
At the time, Adena did not see all of this. She only felt trapped in custody, frightened and desperate to leave. She left her first placement after one night, relapsed again and was re-arrested. By traditional judicial thinking, that should have been her “last chance.”
In reality, she needed more time, more honesty and, ultimately, to reach what people in recovery call “the gift of desperation.”
Hitting Bottom And Choosing Recovery
After yet another relapse and a final stint in custody, Adena reached a breaking point. Exhausted and out of options, she voluntarily turned herself in and agreed to follow a structured plan that removed her from old environments and contacts.
She entered sober living far from her previous life, began working a 12 step programme and continued trauma informed therapy. It was not smooth. She clashed with others, wanted to leave and called Pernik regularly asking him to “just get this over with.”
Instead of giving in, he kept reminding her of the bigger picture: a clean record, a real chance at a future and a life not defined by addiction or criminal justice involvement.
Today, Adena has over two years of continuous sobriety. She is the house manager of a women’s sober living home, has helped reshape its culture into a more supportive environment and recently became a licensed professional in New York. Her criminal case was dismissed, her record sealed and she now sponsors other women through recovery.
What Adena’s Story Teaches Us About Real Justice
Adena’s journey exposes some hard truths about our criminal justice system:
- Most defendants with addiction or mental illness never receive meaningful treatment through the courts.
- Jail alone does not stop drug use and can actually deepen trauma.
- Recovery rarely fits into neat “three strikes” narratives. People often need multiple attempts and the right kind of support before change sticks.
It also shows what is possible when a criminal defence lawyer is willing to look deeper, ask why, and fight for solutions that address the human being, not just the case number.
For Pernik, real justice means more than avoiding a conviction. It means helping clients heal, reconnect with family, become employable and step into a life they actually want to protect.
If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges alongside addiction or mental health challenges, you do not have to navigate it alone. To learn more about client centred criminal defence and how a tailored diversion or treatment plan might apply to your case, contact William V. Pernik and his team or visit their website to request a confidential consultation.