About Dawn's story

About Dawn's story

Chapter two of six: Just out of jail for abusing pain pills, Dawn Nicole Smith appeals to a higher authority than Fayette County Drug Court to help her defeat addiction. The 22-year-old mother of three turns to the Lord. Of those sentenced to Fayette County Drug Court, three out of five fail, despite intensive supervision. Yet that's better than the 95 percent of imprisoned addicts who fail without treatment. Kentucky has invested $56 million in drug courts, which will serve every county by year-end. With Dawn's and the court's permission, two Herald-Leader journalists have followed her struggle through drug court since March 2004. Will she make it? Or will the biochemical bonds of addiction prove too strong? Her success will depend on something a court can't order: hope.

On Kentucky.com: Watch and listen as Dawn is baptized. Read Chapter 1 of this series about Dawn's struggle with pills.