VALDOSTA — Two years ago, one really bad day changed Wykem Blake-Boyd’s life forever.

She almost shot someone who she said was threatening her then fiancé, now wife. Boyd, a convicted felon, was then arrested for carrying a firearm.

When she went before a judge in Lowndes County, Boyd had two choices. She could either go to prison or enter Lowndes County’s new accountability court program. She chose what could be seen as the harder choice and entered into the program.

“It was hell on wheels,” Boyd said about the program. “I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to leave the house, you know. So this was very tough for me. You have to really want it, and I really wanted it.”

Boyd said she had to learn how to live a more normal life. She learned how to hold down a job and how to properly behave in public.

Amy Crumley, treatment provider for accountability court, said the program is set up to teach participants how to be boring. Crumley said they drill into them how to wake up early, get dressed, go to work, come home, make dinner and then go to bed.

“We call it N.O.R.P. – Normal Ordinary Regular Person,” Crumley said. “A lot of these people don’t have any structure, and we have to teach that.”

She said honesty is the most important part of being in the program. If someone fails a drug test and is honest about it, that person will receive less punishment than someone who continuously lies about it. 

The program, however, is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, she said. It isn’t for everyone and takes dedication to graduate. The county started the program about two years ago, and Boyd is the only one to graduate, so far.

Many of the people who enter the program think it is an easy ride to freedom, Crumley said, but the opposite can be true. 

“Most of the time these guys sign up for the program thinking they can do what they’ve always done, which is lie and cheat to get out of jail,” Crumley said. “But we always catch them, and then they go back to prison with additional charges.”

People in the program have to want to change their lives. 

The programs are set up to help people kick a drug addiction, get away from toxic people and turn their life around.

For Boyd, she was ready to change. Originally from New York, her conviction kept her from leaving Georgia. Since her graduation in October, Boyd has been planning on returning to New York with her wife. She is confident that she will return home a different, better person.

“I can’t wait to get there. My wife and I want a new start,” Boyd said.

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256