“I Offered Addicts Rehab… Most Chose Prison” | A Judge’s Brutal Truth About Addiction

Nothing’s Off the Table with Louis Ruggiero · Mar 5, 2026 · 52m

In this episode of Nothing’s Off the Table, I sit down with former Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anthony Peters — a man who spent over 20 years on the bench and saw firsthand that nearly 80% of criminal cases were rooted in addiction. He grew up in a home torn apart by alcoholism. He defended addicts as a public defender. Then he became a judge — and realized the system was failing them. So he founded one of the first Drug Courts in East Los Angeles — offering hardcore repeat offenders a choice: Rehab… or prison. And here’s the shocking truth: Most of them chose prison. We talk about: *…