He was a veteran suffering from flashbacks. I was the judge presiding over his case.
Some people don’t believe in miracles. Miracles, they say, are just fairy tales invented by religious fanatics.
But in my work with veterans, I have seen plenty of them.
Ken Haley is a Marine who was shot by a sniper while on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq. Though seriously wounded, he would not withdraw from the field for medical care. The sharpshooter was a threat to the Marines in his squad, so Staff Sergeant Haley selflessly charged him. He wasn’t leaving the field until he made sure the sniper could not harm his Marines.
But Ken was wounded — twice — and his injuries resulted in his discharge from the Marine Corps. Ken was all Marine Corps, so his release from duty was difficult for him to accept. He was suffering from PTSD and severe physical pain from his injuries. He was terrified of falling into REM sleep because that’s when he would “lose control” and his nightmares would come.
Ken’s flashbacks and nightmares got so bad that he began setting his alarm to go off every two hours, preventing him from falling into a deep sleep.
When he was discharged from the Corps in 2008, prescribing opioids was a standard treatment administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. For Ken, this was bad. He found himself first addicted to opioids, then street drugs. By late 2012, he found himself in the Riverside Veterans Treatment Court facing serious felony charges.
I was the judge presiding over Ken’s case.
I accepted him into our Veteran’s Court program and placed him on probation. Even after Ken had committed more felonies and was charged with these new offenses, I kept him in our court.
He remained in our 18-month Veterans Court program for three years, and to this day I joke that “Ken set the record.” But over the months, I saw him change. He quit taking all substances, prescribed and otherwise. Only then was he able to face his trauma.
Ken began to heal.
In 2016, Ken graduated from our Veterans Court program. He was chosen by his fellow veterans to be the graduate speaker. In attendance at the ceremony were U.S. Congressman Mark Takano and State Senator Melissa Melendez. Ken’s example of courage has given hope to countless other veterans struggling with PTSD, addiction and severe depression.
Ken was awarded two Purple Heart Medals for his actions that day in Fallujah when he killed the sniper threatening his Marines.
In my eight years presiding over Veterans Treatment Court, I have seen addicts and alcoholics who were beyond hope, passed out in the street, decimated by their addictions. Then some lightbulb went off.
They got clean.
I have known deeply troubled men — once facing decades in prison for violent offenses — who now are living in good homes, reunited with their families. I am sad to say I mentally “wrote off” some of these people, thinking, “This guy will never make it.”
Over the past 14 years, I have asked hundreds of defendants who overcame addiction and built better lives, “How did you do it?”
And, 90% of the time, the answer is one word: “God.”
Ken Haley is now a minister with eight years of sobriety. He is a friend and has been to my home for holidays. Last October, I had the honor of performing his wedding ceremony to the lovely Amber Hanson. Amber works with hospice patients and their families. She has also rescued more than 200 dogs.
As for the people who say there are no miracles? They just don’t know where to look.
M.E. Johnson is a California Superior Court judge, a retired U.S. Army colonel and an Iraq War veteran. For eight years, he presided over the Riverside County Veterans Treatment Court. His webpage is at www.mejohnsonauthor.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: He was a veteran suffering from flashbacks. I was the judge presiding over his case.
