April Rodriguez, right, gets a smile from L.A. County Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan as she delivers a speech. Rodriguez and four other women were graduating from the Second Chance Women’s Re-entry Court program. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Ashley Perez and her husband kiss after her graduation. Under the program, women facing a return to state prison for nonviolent felonies plead guilty to their crimes and enter treatment instead. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
From left: Ashley Perez, Kelli Stephenson, April Rodriguez and Melanie Hightower listen to Tynan speak during their graduation. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Rita Thompson, holding her 9-month-old son, is moved to laughter during her progress review. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Orange receives applause during a review of her progress. The program includes at least six months in an addiction treatment facility, with therapy sessions, life- and job-skills classes, chores and support group meetings. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Orange prepares to move out of the addiction treatment facility. Less than two years earlier, she first arrived before Judge Tynan, having broken her back and shattered her ankle while running away from a man who’d caught her burglarizing his home. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Orange, right, gets a goodbye hug from a friend who helped move her things into a sober living home in Pomona, near the addiction treatment facility. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
