Baltimore Branch NAACP Inspects the
Herman L. Tolson Boot Camp
and the Maryland House of Corrections in Jessup

As part of an on-going investigation on conditions in Maryland's correctional institutions, Mr. G. I. Johnson, President of the Baltimore Branch NAACP, led the Prison Support Committee into Maryland's House of Corrections complex at Jessup for an inspection. Mr. Johnson and members of the prison support committee met with William Sondervan, commissioner of Corrections, Warden Ronald Hutchinson and other staff members to discuss a number of concerns, as well as to inspect the facility for unsafe conditions and health hazards. The recent heat wave produced a volume of calls and letters to the Baltimore Branch NAACP Office, prompting the visit.

More than 7,500 inmates released from the state and federal prisons return to Baltimore each year, and Mr. Johnson is disturbed about the lack of resources for aftercare programs. "We must not ignore this critical issue - inmates returning to the community without a safety net in place. Many of these men and women return to the community without housing, employment or job skills, day care for their children or transportation. It is not easy to pick up the pieces and begin your life all over again; and every segment of society has a responsibility to assist those who have served their time to transition back into the community," said Johnson.

Among the areas inspected was the Herman L. Tolson Correctional Boot Camp. Here, men and women participate in a comprehensive program modeled after a military boot camp regiment. This training stresses discipline, education, physical conditioning, personal hygiene, coping skills and vocational training. Many of the boot camp participants have served a considerable portion of their sentence and have a date when they are to be released and returned to the community.

The employee in charge of the boot camp is an African-American woman, Cmdr. Brenda M. Shell, who had double files of males and females standing at attention as Mr. Johnson conducted an inspection. Cmdr. Shell is the only African-American woman boot camp commander in the nation who supervises male and females.

Mr. Johnson asked a number of participants about how they were being treated, how they were managing the heat and whether the boot camp was helping to prepare them to return to the community. Most of the participants seemed to appreciate the discipline aspect of the program, which many claim they lacked prior to incarceration.

"The first goal of the boot camp is to encourage inmates to become productive citizens and to provide them with the means to accomplish this goal. The selection process for boot camp is rigorous, and only those inmates with the highest probability for rehabilitative success are permitted to enter the program. There is a study underway to assess the success for the participants after they are released into the community. There is a fiber optics training program off-site at Anne Arundel Community College that creates great promise for job placement and career path with a future. Upon successful completion, a skilled technician can earn up to $35,000 per year and allows our graduates to earn a decent living," said Cmdr. Shell.

Below are photos representing the tour group and activities in the boot camp. We thank Cmdr Shell and her staff for being helpful during our visit. A special thanks to Mr. Roderick Willis, Chairman of the Prison Support Committee, for documenting this visit.