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Deadly Nostalgia: The Politics of Boot Camps
Loaded on March 15, 2001
by Christian Parenti
published in Prison Legal News
March, 2001, page 1
The short, stout eighth grader Gina Score, was never much of an athlete. But that didn't matter to the staff at South Dakota's Plankinton boot camp for girls, where militarystyle discipline and calisthenics were the modus operandi and, as staff put it, "quitting is not an option." On her first …
Filed under:
Private Prisons,
Racial Discrimination,
Boot Camps,
Strip Cells,
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Pepper Spray/Tear Gas,
Restraints,
Damages,
Settlements,
Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
Locations:
Arizona,
California,
Maryland,
New Jersey,
South Dakota.
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More from this issue:
- Deadly Nostalgia: The Politics of Boot Camps, by Christian Parenti
- Riot at CCA Prison Hospitalizes 15 Guards, by Gary Hunter
- FTCA, Bivens Claims in Beating Suit Proceed in Bifurcated Trial
- The Spirit of Freedom and Resistance, Long Kesh Prison Closed, by Julia Lutsky
- Cook County Deputies Charged in Beating Death
- BOP Organ Transplant Ban Questioned
- U.S. Isolates Political Prisoners, by Ronald Young
- Feds Continue Abuse of El-Hage
- WA DOC Sells Prisoner Information
- The Continuing Saga of Corruption in the New York State Parole System
- Texas Deputy Pays Price for Testifying
- Jail Term for DUI Turns into Death Sentence
- Texas Death Machine Faces Renewed Criticism
- Wildfires Highlight Cheapness of Prisoner Lives
- Ad Seg States Claim, But Loses on Merits
- Lorton Conditions Unconstitutional
- Colorado Prisoner Challenges 'Sex Offender' Label
- BOP Possession Offense Requires Specific Intent
- Permanent Injunction Granted for Kosher Diets
- SHU Should Be Compared to Conditions Experienced by All Prisoners
- Consent No Defense For Guard Accused of Raping Prisoner
- Court May Reduce Post-Judgement Attorney's Fees Rate and Billable Hours
- NJ Prisoners Entitled to Cross Examine Witnesses
- "The Judge Gave Me Ten Years--He Didn't Sentence Me to Death", by Anne-Marie Cusac
- Oregon Compelled Parole Statute Not Retroactive
- Improperly Installed Bunks State 8th Amendment Claim
- Second Circuit Holds That Gang Member Designation Regulation is Not Ex Post Facto
- PLRA Doesn't Apply to Civil Commitments
- News in Brief
- $1.18 Million in Santa Clara Co. Sexual Assault/Harassment Suit
- New York Prayer Rule Struck Down
- Federal Religious Freedom Law Passed
More from Christian Parenti:
- The Surprising Geography of Police Killings: Back-of-the-Napkin Calculations on Race, Region, and Violence, July 9, 2020
- Deadly Nostalgia: The Politics of Boot Camps, March 15, 2001
- Guarding Their Silence: Corcoran Guards Acquitted of Rape, March 15, 2000
- Rural Prison as Colonial Master, April 15, 1998
- Weed and Seed: The Fortress Culture, Jan. 15, 1994
More from these topics:
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Settlements, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.
- Florida DOC Rebuked for Seizing Prisoner’s Excessive Force Settlement to Cover Incarceration Liens, Sept. 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- $280,000 Paid for South Carolina Detainee’s Death in Charleston Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Contractor Liability, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Monell Liability.
- Eight Circuit Reverses Denial of Partial Qualified Immunity in Detainee’s Pepper Ball Claim, Remands Excessive Force Claims, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Four Massachusetts Guards Face Charges for Assault on Prisoners During Brawl, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- New Commission to Investigate Death and Abuse of 230 Black Children at Segregated Maryland Reformatory, Sept. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons.
- Last of 11 Guards Sentenced in Death of New York Prisoner, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), False Statements/Perjury, Obstruction of Justice.
- Isolation and Medical Neglect at Illinois’ Joliet Treatment Center Drive Prisoners to Set Fatal Fires, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Security Systems, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- $500,000 for Mentally Ill Detainee Beaten by Guard at Ohio Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Settlements, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.

