Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 16, 1991 TAG: 9104160188
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Landmark News Service
DATELINE: CAPRON LENGTH: Medium
"We are not here for jokes! Our purpose is to teach you self-motivation, self-discipline, self-control . . . It's up to each and every one of you to ensure that you complete this program. It's your last chance," boomed Taylor, a former Marine.
State prison officials hope 12 weeks of such military discipline will keep the inmates out of future troubles.
The "Shock Probation" Program was set up by the 1990 General Assembly, which cited similar efforts in states such as South Carolina and Louisiana. It was scheduled to begin in January but it took until April for judges to sentence enough offenders to the program, said Wayne Farrar, a Department of Corrections spokesman.
Judges may sentence non-violent offenders ages 18 to 24 to the boot camp rather than prison. Those completing the course will be placed on probation; those who fail may get prison terms.
"It offers them an opportunity to get some guidance, some discipline," said Andrew Molloy, a prison system official who helped develop the program. "They probably haven't gotten that before."
Critics of the program say judges send people to the camp who might have gotten probation otherwise, so the program does little to ease prison overcrowding. They also complain that a few weeks in boot camp is unlikely to undo a lifetime of neglect or abuse that led someone to crime.
Most of the young men in the initial boot camp platoon are drug offenders; others have been sentenced for burglary, grand larceny and other property crimes.
They received heavy doses of military discipline almost from the moment they stepped off the bus Monday morning at the Southampton Correctional Complex. They were surrounded by drill instructors who were clad in uniforms featuring the familiar broad-brimmed hat and combat boots.
"Move like you got a purpose," yelled one instructor as the young men made their way into the mess hall for a lunch of chicken, peas, and sliced peaches. "This ain't no Sunday stroll. You got a problem with that?"
Officials suggested that Monday's indoctrination was just a taste of what's ahead for the men. A typical day will begin at 5:30 a.m. and include physical training, work details, remedial education and anti-drug programs, said James V. Beale Jr., the assistant warden in charge of the cluster of cinder block buildings that houses the boot camp.
The convicts also will help build an obstacle course out of the pile of logs behind one of the facility's buildings.
The state will spend between $7,000 and $8,000 to put each man through the course, roughly half of what it would cost to keep him in prison for a year.
Some information in this story came from The Associated Press.
by CNB