Former addict laments making deal on meth before, after photos

PEKIN, Ill. -- Penny Wood's drug-weathered face helped cut a deal that kept her out of prison, but the 40-year-old Pekin woman says she now faces stares and ridicule instead.

Wood accepted a unique plea agreement in January that gave her probation in exchange for using her photographs in a campaign to curb methamphetamine use by showing the physical toll of the drug.

Now, she says the startling before-and-after photos are causing humiliation for her and her family, and wants prosecutors to stop distributing the fliers.

"I've paid for my mistakes. I don't want my grandchildren to keep paying for my mistakes," said Wood, who faced up to 30 years in prison if she had been convicted of unlawful criminal drug conspiracy.

Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz said Wednesday he isn't about to scrap the campaign, which he said already is helping discourage meth use by appealing to teenagers' concern over their appearance.

Wood's rapid aging is what first gave Umholtz the idea for the campaign.

"Seeing them side by side, it was apparent to me that the photos showed the impact of meth use better than I could ever describe in words," said Umholtz, who also is pushing for tougher criminal penalties to battle the rise in meth cases in central Illinois.

Wood agreed that the photos make a case against drugs. "If that picture doesn't shock a child, I don't know what will," she said. But she thought the program would be low-key, perhaps in local drug treatment and prevention programs.

Umholtz said the deal didn't specify how Wood's photos would be used. He said fliers are available to any agency that promotes drug prevention, such as police, schools and the local Boys & Girls Club.

He added that the police photos are public record and could have been used without Wood's consent. He said he had her sign the agreement in an effort to boost her self-worth and aid her recovery over meth addiction.

"I thought it was important for her to agree so she would feel she is providing a service to the community. I think in the long term, when she has an opportunity to sit down and reflect on this, she'll feel better about herself for having done this," he said.

Wood, who said an outpatient rehabilitation program has helped her kick a longtime meth habit, also is upset that her name has been linked to the photos, making her the target of whispers and jokes.

Umholtz said he has abided by the plea agreement and has never released Wood's name in connection with the photos.

Newspapers have published her name along with the photos in articles, "so her anger may be more directed at the media," he said.

Umholtz questioned Wood's concerns over the fliers' impact on her family, saying her daughter is now serving a prison sentence for a meth conviction.

"It seems to me that if a person was concerned about their children and grandchildren, they wouldn't be engaged in this kind of offense," Umholtz said.