June 26, 2002

"48 HOURS" INVESTIGATES A YOUTH BOOT CAMP AFTER A QUESTIONABLE DEATH,
FRIDAY, JUNE 28

Broadcast Examines a Successful Alternative to Boot Camp

48 HOURS investigates a teenager's death at a military-style boot camp in Buckeye, Ariz., for youths with disciplinary problems at a time when these kinds of programs have come under scrutiny nationwide. Richard Schlesinger investigates allegations of abuse at the camp and the death of Anthony Haynes on 48 HOURS: "Death in the Desert," to be broadcast Friday, June 28 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Melanie Haynes was desperately afraid her 14-year-old son, Anthony, was headed for a life of crime. So she enrolled him in America's Buffalo Soldiers Reenactors Association, founded and run by 57-year-old Charles Franklin Long II, a self-proclaimed Colonel who uses tough love to get troubled youths on the right track. Long says he teaches respect for parents, teachers and the law through daily chores and restricted diet: an apple for breakfast, a carrot for lunch and a bowl of beans for dinner. The dress code in the desert sun is a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants and a black hat.

On Sunday, July 1, 2001, Haynes and other teenaged campers asked to "drop out" because they didn't want to continue. Instead, they were separated from the other kids and ordered to form a line in the sun. It was 111 degrees that day and they reportedly were made to stay in the sun from around lunchtime until sunset. After Haynes died from dehydration due to heat exposure and complications of near drowning, many questions are raised about the camp and Long.

No one had ever died at Long's camp before Haynes, but there had been allegations about a previous camp run by him involving kids reported to have been beaten, kicked and denied water. However, charges were never filed and Long claims he was just the victim of a smear campaign by the teenagers. But after an eight-month investigation into Haynes' death, Long was arrested and charged with child abuse, aggravated assault and second-degree murder. He is awaiting trial.

Military-style tough love programs caught on in the mid 1980s, but one major study found them to be ineffective, with a recidivism rate of about 70 percent. Boot camps in at least eight other states, most recently Arizona, have been closed or overhauled after allegations of abuse.

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The broadcast also examines an innovative and intense alternative treatment program for trouble teenagers that has a much higher success rate than boot camps: Multi-Systemic Therapy, also known as MST, a treatment program is now available in 27 states. Susan Spencer visits a family in Charleston, S.C. which is trying MST. The program assigns a counselor to the household to not only work with the teenager, but with the parents, teachers and court. MST studies show that four years after completing MST, kids have 40 percent fewer arrests than kids in comparable programs. And, MST costs that state about $5500 a year, compared to imprisonment, which costs $40,000 a year.

48 HOURS: "Death in the Desert" is produced by Randy Martin, Patti Aronofsky and Deborah Grau. The senior producer is Katie Boyle, the executive editor is Al Briganti and the executive producer is Susan Zirinsky.

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Press Contact: Marcy Erhard 212/975-2888 or erhardm@cbsnews.com