The second group just completed its fourth week. Cousins said his hope is that inmates graduating from boot camp will feel a sense of accomplishment at doing something that ''gives them discipline and direction in their life. He said graduates also may gain new life skills, such as addressing others civilly, keeping clean, writing a check, or filling out a job application. Inmates are housed in a renovated dormitory, separated from the main building where most inmates are incarcerated. Drilling and other physical activities are held in an adjoining gymnasium or on the Lawrence grounds.
Classes take place in the gym.
Cousins said his staff selects offenders who might benefit from the camp's structured environment, typically younger inmates serving sentences for assaults or malicious destruction of property. Many have been incarcerated before. Participation is voluntary. They also could be placed in a halfway house, monitored with an electronic device. More drilling follows, as do classes in subjects ranging from parenting to arts, high school equivalency instruction, and substance-abuse issues, with breaks for meals in the mess hall.