Md. Prison Program Review Not Based On TV Episode
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- Maryland's prison agency says its suspension of youth crime deterrence programs wasn't prompted by an episode of the TV show, "Beyond Scared Straight," in which two state inmates appear to throw a young man into a utility room.
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesman Rick Binetti said Friday that Corrections Commissioner Michael Stouffer decided upon the review after learning that the A&E Network was taping additional episodes at two other Maryland prisons.
Binetti says Stouffer wants to make sure the youth programs conform to agency policies.
The TV series began Jan. 13 with an episode taped at the Maryland Correctional Institution at Jessup.
Upcoming episodes were taped at the women's prison and at a prison near Hagerstown.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
