Time was when what used to be called juvenile delinquents were offered a $ stark choice: join the service or go to jail. A dose of military discipline was supposed to make a man out of a boy and set him on the path to respectable citizenship. But the all-volunteer armed forces eliminated that option for what are now called youthful offenders. In a growing number of states, however, the purported benefits of paramilitary discipline are being showered on young criminals through programs known as "shock incarceration."
Nine states have such programs, and 30 more are considering them. They have also...