Helped Change a Life in the Process A Judge in H is C ourt to a Game of Chess, Challenged a Man
C harles Green first saw a chessboard more than 40 years ago at Franklin Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin. “I saw two kids playing. I remember to this day, because I was a checker player, but I seen the chess and it intrigued me,” he says. “I was like, what the heck is this? And from that point on, I just wanted to learn how to play and I just fell in love with that game.” Turns out, he had a knack for it. He joined the chess club and won a few tournaments, and today he calls himself the chess champion of his barbershop, where he plays almost every day. “I’m the barbershop champion. I’m the people’s champion,” he says. “I mean, I win an awful lot. I don’t like to brag or nothing, but I’m pretty good.”
Green, 52, has also been involved in the criminal justice system in one way or another for a lot of his life, and played a lot of chess while incarcerated. About two years ago, he found himself in front of Judge Everett Mitchell in Dane County’s high-risk drug court, a program of the criminal justice system targeting people who have committed non-violent, drug-related crimes. People who complete the drug court program and stay sober can have their sentences reduced or even have charges dismissed. Mitchell says he tries to approach people in his court as individuals, rather than numbers in a system. He says he doesn’t even use the word “defendant” in drug court, making
CONTINUE READING > > >
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online