European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 2, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Philol 4 boat Camp approach i used wet Young often Cert at the Perchman miss Penitentiary. Prisoners March and Drill to the barks of camouflage uniformed officers. Paramilitary prison programs associated press reveille sounds at 4 30 am Lor the soldiers in Boot Camp Al Mississippi slats Penitentiary at Parchman once a sprawling Delta Larm whore hundreds of prisoners picked Cotton by hand under the watchful eyes of shooter trustees or armed inmates. Today instead of marching Oil to the Cotton Fields some 130 draftees in a paramilitary program spend iwo hours before breakfast in a rigorous regimen of calisthenic inspection follows with a Drill instructor evaluating such things As the starched neatness of an inmate s simple Green jumpsuit and red Cap uniform and the Diness of his bunk area. Then the cadences sound Sharp and deep As the platoons Kneuver about the prison Yard. The marching tunes Range from the violence tinged silliness of a tale about a yellow Bird who squashed his head to a Siffor verse authored Lor a visit by several slate judges judges judges can t you see what the rid has done for  yell the soldiers in the program formally matted regimented inmate discipline. The ranks Stop marching about 10am. When they break for group therapy sessions psycho correctional classes throughout the inst of the Day Are broken up with periods of marching and calisthenic Ted by of Aton leaders promoted from the rank and lilo because of their leadership skills. The aim of the program is to get armies of wayward Young offenders to March in step with society rather than Back into a life of crime. Psychologist Zanolla Yazdani has run this Bool Camp Al the Mississippi stale Penitentiary for 1 / years and he says a dozen stale correctional systems have ind filed of Are investigating paramilitary programs. Monthly visitors come to observe Hia ski headed troops March and Drill to he barks of a camouflage uniformed officer. The program is Only one of the changes that have come to Parchman since a Federal court ruling in the Early 1970s led to sweeping prison reforms. The crowded old wooden Barracks have been closed or renovated some of the a ,080 inmates still work Collon by hand but Only several Hundred of the prison s 16,000 acres Are now devoted of Row crops. A  division provides training in 16 different areas such As television repair masonry and Small motor repairs. Corrections officials in several other states agree that paramilitary programs like Saidani s Are coming into Vogue a trend they say reflects a growing acceptance of the military in America it seems to be a bandwagon that people arc jumping on nationwide says William Kima Deputy director of research and planning for the Michigan department of corrections. These programs have a lot of sex Appeal if i can us Hal term. The problem of Young offenders is increasing and no one really has an answer and Here is something Hal is relatively cheap and Short Lerm " Michigan officials Are among those who have contacted Yazdani about his 90-Day Paf Amis Lary program for nonviolent first time offenders. The Michigan legislature has appropriated Money specifically for a paramilitary program but slate correction officials have yet to determine the scope or nature of the program Kime says. Hardy Rauch. Director of the correctional standards program or the american correctional association in College Park my says no studies have tabulated the number of states joining the paramilitary corps. Monday february 2, 1967 new inmate Aldan Taylor right to broken in by sgt. , Hotman at the Penitentiary. Rauch s office accredits prisons and jails often setting standards at the request of judges and legislators the paramilitary approach ebbs and flows. In the 1950s, when i first began my career about 20 percent of the prisons in the country were using the  he says. I think in the late 40s the paramilitary was even More common As a lot of veterans were resuming and administrators and wardens returning from the War used that to teach discipline and  the veterans of the Vietnam War had no such Impact during the 1960s and 70s, he says much of society shunned the. Military and prison rehabilitation programs rarely assumed a paramilitary format. But he says the Param Blary approach appears to be regaining popularity i am sure there have been no studies on this trend. But in our congresses of correction it s being discussed again he says. Ten years ago it just simply was not  in addition to my silly Wippl Oklahoma and Georgia have established prison Boot Camps in the last three years Yazdani says officials considering paramilitary programs that have contacted him Hail from Michigan Louisiana California Florida Oregon Delaware Texas Wyoming. New York City and the Federal prison system in Washington Yazdani says americans Aren t the Only ones interested in his program which involves group therapy sessions and positive thinking tapes with auditory subliminal messages in addition to the several hours of marching and calisthenic each Day. He says he has been contacted by corrections officers from Canada Australia Holland. Belgium England and France. He says people Are interested because Only 28 percent of the program s 500 graduates to Date have returned to prison. Currently 115 men and 5 women Are participating in the program supervised by Ivee therapeutic staff members including Yazdani and 16 Security guards Yazdani admits his program has t been operating Long enough to fully evaluate its Impact but 2 b percent is considerably below the National average return of about 50 percent for All offenders. There Are no rational figures on the return Rale Lor Fust Lime non violent offenders like those in Yazdani s program says Lawrence Greenfield director of the correctional statistics program Tor the Federal Bureau of Justice. But Greenfield Calls a 2 8 percent return rate  sounds like he ought to bottle it and sell in Greenfield says of Vidani s program. But you d have to determine if they re using Standard research procedures in doing this the stars and stripes Page 13