TWIN FALLS - The morning of his 46th birthday John woke up agitated, grabbed his wife by the neck and talked to God.

In August 2005, he frequently talked to God, stayed up all night and didn't eat.

"I was in a full-blown psychosis," he said. "I had never been diagnosed. My kids and wife thought I was on drugs."

Grabbing his wife of 25 years led to a trial and eventual conviction in March 2006 of misdemeanor domestic violence and felony attempted strangulation.

That conviction typically leads to a prison sentence.

Instead, the 47-year-old man was sentenced to 5th District Judge G. Richard Bevan's mental health court.

The court, created in December 2005, convenes weekly and seeks to rehabilitate mentally ill felons.

John, whose real name the Times-News is not publishing at his request because of the stigma attached to mental illness, is in the third phase of the four-phase program.

The program has helped put his life back on track at a fraction of the cost to taxpayers.

"I go to work every day. I don't talk to God anymore. She (his wife) invited me to come back home," he said. "I did so many strange things."

Programs like these have only recently been launched in the Magic Valley. The Idaho Supreme Court pays for the mental health court.

But getting into the program is not easy. By mid-January, the fledgling program was half-filled.

The court denies three-fourths of its applications, rejecting sex offenders and screening out violent offenders if a psychotic episode did not fuel their crime. And not all mental illnesses qualify.

Of the people accepted in the 5th District, the prosecutor must give the final approval.

Bevan signed up to lead the court after seeing their success nationwide at reducing recidivism, cutting costs and promoting re-integration of defendants into society without risking the safety of the community.

Bevan hands out Snickers bars for good behavior.

As strange as it sounds, the Snickers bars come to mean a lot to participants, said Richard Neu, who coordinates the mental health court for the 5th District. Bevan, who sat beside Neu during the interview, nodded and added - especially when everybody but you is getting one.

"Positive reinforcement is extremely effective," said Neu. "A candy bar can be a token of that. Initially, the court appears as a big hammer and now the judge is saying, 'What a great week.'"

John's conviction is helping him reclaim his life.

"I've seen him go from being compliant because he had to be to being somebody who's doing this because he appreciates the benefit of the program in his life," Bevan said. "I mean, it's who he is now."

But his drive to succeed in the program was not always so strong.

Recall the nervousness of your first day in kindergarten. Now imagine exposing your vulnerabilities to a robed judge in his courtroom while feeling the effects of new anti-psychotic medication, coming down off years of sleeplessness and talking to God. But over the next few months, Bevan and the man formed a successful mentoring relationship.

But Neu and Bevan said Idaho is just beginning to appreciate the potential of specialized courts.

The Idaho Legislature approved the Idaho Drug Court and Mental Health Court Act to pull the state out of 43rd place in the United States in its ability to provide mental health services.

The act concluded that mental health courts "have provided a cost-effective approach to addressing the mental health needs of offenders, reducing recidivism, providing community protection, easing the caseload of the courts and alleviating the problem of increasing prison, jail and detention populations."

Statistically, Neu said, someone like John fails after being released from jail.

"Mainstream probation is set up for someone who is rational and capable of making good decisions," Neu said.

"And mental illness impairs a person's ability to make good decisions,"he said. "Rather than locking them up because they have failed treatment, we support them every step of the way."

Once in the program, few people drop out, Neu said. Participants see the court in a way few other criminals have.

"They see a side of me I'm sure few of the defendants see on Mondays," said Bevan, referring to the week's busiest day for arraignments. "I'm still stern when I need to be stern. I recognize people maybe a little better than I did before."

The mental disorders this program addresses last a lifetime.

"If we can catch them earlier on, we prevent future escalations," Neu said. "That is the hopeful goal."

Now on medication, John can reflect lucidly on his years of illness and the pain it caused his family. He said he feels lucky the program exists.

"I don't know if I hadn't gone to mental health court if I would have the wherewithal to take my meds," John said. "Before you go to it, you don't know that that support system is even there."