Before sentencing Todd Anthony Bebout in a fatal accident caused by drunk driving, Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull replied to a defense request to consider Bebout's alcohol addiction by saying, "It's not a disease. People say that time and again, but it's not."

Gull, who oversees a drug court program that diverts nonviolent drug offenders to a 12-to-18 month treatment-focused program, explained later that her comments were restricted specifically to Bebout's case. She said she would have considered defense attorneys' request for leniency if evidence of a medical diagnosis in his case had been offered.

"I very specifically considered what I had in front of me," Gull said. "There wasn't anything that supported it."

During the sentencing, Gull commented on the defendant's choices over the years, stressing his failed efforts at rehabilitation through counseling in the justice system. She explained after the sentencing that in drug court, she has sometimes received information supporting an offender's diagnosis of addiction, whereby she requires medical treatment as a condition of drug court participation.

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