American Notes MISSISSIPPI

Most inmates of the state penitentiary in Parchman, Miss., are run-of-the- mill, old-style cons. But a few may have switched to high-tech crime, diverting prison products for profit. When a trailerload of cotton rolled out of the pen, its weight seemed in good order on the institution's computer records. Yet two weeks ago it was discovered that when the cotton arrived at a nearby gin, it was light by more than 90,000 lbs. The missing cotton, worth $20,000, seems to have been shipped elsewhere.

Prison authorities are focusing their probe on an embezzler serving a 30- year term. The suspect, a clerk in the prison-industries program, has his own computer terminal. He is also suspected of participating in a scheme to doctor $50,000 worth of money orders.