By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
February 10, 2025
Mark McDaniel recently found himself in a place he never thought he would be – the Indiana Statehouse getting a standing ovation from lawmakers and members of the judiciary.
A former heavy equipment operator in the Indiana National Guard, McDaniel was recognized by Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush during her 2025 State of the Judiciary speech Jan. 29 for overcoming a drug addiction and graduating from the Tippecanoe County Veterans Treatment Court. McDaniel stood between Tippecanoe County Judges Sean Persin and Daniel Moore, unfurled the handmade quilt that had been presented to him at graduation and shyly smiled as the applause rang through the House chamber.
Afterward, seated in the Indiana Supreme Court Law Library, McDaniel conversed easily, smiled often and never bragged about his accomplishment or the recognition he had just received. Instead, he talked about how impressed he was with the court system and what he learned about the courts while in the Statehouse. Also, he praised the veterans court.
McDaniel found a home in the Veterans Treatment Court. His descent into substance abuse had led to multiple arrests, time spent idling in jail and damaged relationships, but in veterans court, he got the support and services that helped him regain his footing and has made new friends who are available, whether he just wants to talk or needs help moving into a new place to live.
“The judges…they really cared,” McDaniel said of veterans court. “I can say that 100 percent without a doubt.”
Persin was happy McDaniel was spotlighted to show the success veterans can have in the treatment courts.
The State of the Judiciary gave other Hoosiers a chance “to see the guy that we’ve been able to see,” Persin said. “The standing ovation was neat, because, unfortunately, too many people would look at him on paper, look at his record, and would never give him a shot.”
Veterans court is a program run by local trial courts around the state that helps high-risk, high-need former members of the military return to being contributing members of their communities and rebuilding relationships with their family and friends. It is among an array of Indiana’s problem-solving courts that uses discipline, obligations and sometimes tough love, sometimes gentle encouragement to enable individuals to overcome their struggles and return to productive lives, rather than staying in a continuous cycle of arrest, incarceration and reentry.
Participants’ motivation to endure and complete the rigorous, problem-solving court program comes from a stay that is placed on their sentence. If they graduate from the problem-solving court, they will not have to serve any of their sentence. However, if they get booted from the program, they could be taken from the courtroom to jail.
In Tippecanoe County, participants in the Veterans Treatment Court have to go through a multiphased program for up to three years. They must regularly appear before Judges Persin and Moore and meet a number of requirements, such as submitting to drug tests, staying gainfully employed, and caring for their families as well as breaking bad habits and avoiding troublemakers from their past.
Persin and Moore credited the participants’ military training with the success seen in the Veterans Treatment Court. The former service members benefit from their past experiences in difficult situations, their sense of duty and their respect for the law, the judges said. Also, the veterans in the problem-solving court draw strength from the bonds they often form with each other.
“That military mind-set of we’re all pulling together kind of helps ensure that they continue to progress,” Moore said. “You see them not wanting to let other people down in the program and when somebody does fail, you see them all coming up to them at the end, re-encouraging and getting them to reengage.”
McDaniel was so comfortable in Veterans Treatment Court that he indulged in a little mischievous behavior. Persin had enticed McDaniel to spend some time fishing by offering him a one-day leave from court if he brought back a photo of what he caught. So McDaniel dipped his hand into his sister’s koi pond, pulled out the littlest fish he could find, put it on a hook and smiled for the picture.
The judge did not say how big the fish had to be, McDaniel said with a shrug.
Persin explained that the purpose of sending a veterans court participant to fish or go out to dinner with friends or spend time enjoying a hobby is to encourage “pro-social activities.” The program, he said, wants the veterans to develop the skills to have fun without having to use alcohol or drugs.
“If they’re ever really going to be healthy at the time they graduate, they’ve got to be living life, not just work, sleep, sobriety,” Persin said. “It’s got to be they’re getting their life back.”
As McDaniel recounted his experience in veterans court, Rush walked into the law library and wrapped him in a hug. The pair spread the quilt, which community members make especially for graduates of the Veterans Treatment Court, onto the table and admired the design. They then chatted a bit, with McDaniel looking bashful while the chief justice told him how inspired she was by his graduation.
“I’m going to check in on you,” Rush said to McDaniel.
After receiving a general discharge from the National Guard, McDaniel settled into family life, married his childhood sweetheart and began raising two children in Gary. He had a job at the U.S. Steel plant where every day he put on a protective suit and wooden shoes as he worked in the hot ladles department.
Then his wife asked for a divorce. “She just fell out of love with me,” McDaniel said.
He moved on, settling into a new life that included his children and holding public office in the town of Waveland. However, at age 33, McDaniel was introduced to methamphetamine and was sold on the myth that he would be able to work even longer hours, which was especially enticing because he could work more overtime.
“I was on the town board and using drugs, you know,” McDaniel said. “I’d be sitting in meetings with the town sheriff and everyone right next to me and I’d be high.”
McDaniel’s life spiraled, until he and his Chihuahua were living in his van stuffed with everything he still owned. When the police came with a warrant for his arrest, he refused to leave until the officers agreed to take his dog to his sister’s house.
He spent more time in jail and when he was released, his sister drove him straight to a rehab facility. From there, McDaniel landed in the Veterans Treatment Court.
Persin and Moore said they watched McDaniel get every aspect of his life back in order by connecting with family, getting a job and maintaining sobriety. Still, the one thing he did not have was a place of his own.
McDaniel told the judges he was fine sleeping on a buddy’s couch, but Persin and Moore kept pushing, so he started searching for an apartment. The process became more arduous and aggravating than either he or the judges anticipated, because landlords did not want to rent to someone with a prison record.
“There are men and women like Mark, graduating these programs all over the state, that are in the same situation, just trying to rebuild their lives,” Moore said about the difficulty veterans court participants can have finding a place to live. “I think it is important for the community to understand these people, they need a break sometimes, whether it’s housing or a job. They’re doing the hard work to change.”
McDaniel kept searching, until he followed a Facebook post to a mobile home park where the owner rented him a trailer. He has created a home where he spends his time watching television, clipping coupons and hunting for bargains on the internet. In a display case, he keeps his mementos from veterans court, including the quilt and the watch he also received at graduation.
Reflecting on his journey, McDaniel said he knows some people would be skeptical. They would be quick to tell others, “He’s no hero, he’s a drug dealer,” McDaniel said. Then he added, “but that’s my past.”
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
