Some Oklahoma courts prescribe work at a poultry plant as alternative to incarceration

After struggling with methamphetamine addiction, Darrell Wilson, 44, faced life in prison for a series of drug and firearms charges in 2015.

Wilson credits Christian Alcoholics and Addicts in Recovery (CAAIR), a court-referred recovery program in Delaware County that puts people to work at a poultry plant and other manual labor jobs, with saving his life. He now works at CAAIR as a staff member.

"When I went before the judge, God was there," Wilson said. "I came here broken, not knowing what to do with my life."

At a different court-referred recovery program called the DARP Foundation in Tahlequah, Mandy Rucinski, 40, said she was forced to work 14-hour days gutting chickens in order to avoid being sent to prison.