By Jeanette Steele
After two combat tours in Iraq, with a failing second marriage, Steve put a handgun in his mouth.
Thinking better of it, he removed the gun, but it went off accidentally on his patio. That, with domestic violence allegations from his wife, landed Steve in court on weapons and violence charges in 2011.
He had been a decorated combat veteran. He barely understood how he had become a criminal.
Steve is now free with his record wiped clean because of his participation in the San Diego County Veterans Treatment Court.
The program recently transitioned from a pilot project into a permanent program, bringing an expanded scope that will allow more San Diego military veterans to seek help in order to avoid jail time and a criminal record.
In its first three years, the court processed 74 vets with a low, 4 percent rate of recidivism, or reoffense. Recidivism in state prison populations is at 60 percent to 70 percent. 
America is experiencing a boom in veterans courts nationally, an acknowledgment of the toll taken by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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