Litchfield enquirer., 1830-05-13
port is plain. or has been deliberately and ju- dicially settled.

nal lOrlSprudence. the latitude it gives to iu- dciat discretion in fixing the, term ofconfine- ment for many crimes stands prominent. If punishment be liable to great f1nctuation, it's restraining influence will be diminished. The uncertainty of the penalties of the law win defeat its design. The prevention of crimes will be most cfectually accomplished, by de- fining and fixing with precision the punish ment to be imposed for each offence. This certainty too, is accordant to the spirit of the constitution and dictated by the principles of humanity and justice; Therefore recommend such amendments of the existing law, as will narrow the limits ofjudicial discretion in pro- nOuncng sentences to confinement in the State Prison, now liable to luctuate from the shortest assignable period, to imprisonment during the life of the convict. Sentences to ] confinement in prison for any short periods are alike injurious to the convicts themselves, ] and to the interests of the State. In almost | every instance such sentences subject the state to considerable loss. They lnfict all
 the ignominy of a pententiary punishment on
 the convict, while they deny to him proper
 opportunity to experience the influence of ;ts
 reforming power. conscious of a loss of char acter, and having neither made moral inn
 provement or acquired competent knowI- 1 edge any useful art, persons who have been
 
 become desperate, on their return to society, and sink into aggravated violations of it's peace and rights. On the other hand impris- onment for life, by cutting the conyicts off from all hope of social enjnyments. exposes them to misanthropic gleam and ncorrgible depravty. Perpetual confinement, there
 fore, should be inflicted in a few extreme ca ses, and for such high offences as demand exemplary, but not capital punishment. Under the present organization and arrange.
 anent of the courts. the expedency of enlarg- ing the criminal jurisdiction of the County Court is a fit subject of inquiry. By giving | to the Superior and County Courts concur
 rent jurisdiction over all offences punishable by imprisonment in the Connecticut State Prison during limited number of years. the constitutional right of the accused in all crim- inal prosecutions, to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury, will be secured to an extent l not provided for by the existing lay. The County Courts as now organized, are deemed safe Repositories of this power. Provision may be made that offenders shall be rccogniz. cd to appear before the Court. which ac- cording tO law will he held next after the time of such recognizance in the County where they shall have been prosecuted. The period of confinement to which persons a- waiting trial arenow subjected. would there- by in very nanpy eases be shortened. and tho inequality of punishment and injustice result ing thrrefrom avoided. On the guilty, jus tice would thus be visited with little delay 1; while the innocent might be speedily exOner- ated from unjust and injurious impntations. and promptly delivered from Imprisonment by judgments of acquittal. Should legal questions of great magnitude and difficult so
 lutinn arise before either Court, the tribunals constituted by law for their re-examination and final decision will always he accessible.
 x Much, too, of the expense arising from the support of delnquents in the County Prisons before trial, would be saved to the State. Such expenditures form considerable item in our judicial expenses. Their reduction is l an object deserving attention. By the alter alton proposed. it may probably be effected to the extent of one half. .,.
 1 It will be foreseen that ny conferring ex- tended Jurisdiction on the County Courts, n considerable proportion of the criminal cases
 now occupying the attention of the Superior
 Courts, to the exclusion of civil business, will be transferred 10 the former tribunals The Courts of last resort. therefore, in issues l of fact will be enabled to devote their time
 more interruptedIy to the trial of civil causes than is now practicable. The progress oi such causes to final determination in the Superior Courts SO desirable, will thereby he hastened the expenses of litigation materially diminished. and the public interest and ac- commodati0n promoted. These views have induced me to entertain the opinion, that the enlargement of the jurisdiction of the County Courts in theasbanner proposed, Is calculated to facilitate the administration of justice. and advance the public good. ! therefore invite your particular attention to the subject.
 The operations at the Connecticut State Prison have been crowned with Hattering sue
 cess. The balance in favor of the institution. after deducting every expense incident to its
 management, and the support of the convicts for the year ending on the 3ist of March last, was five thousand and sixty eight dollars and ninety -lonr cents. To appreciate fully the pccuniary results of the new Prison, ir must be recOlIected that the average annual dis bursements from the treasury on account of the old establishment for the ten years pre- ceding its abandonment, exceeded eight thou sand four hundred dollars. .M In the moral effects of the system of police established in the State Prison. as Tar as they have been developed. there is. also. great req son to exnlt It is believed that iD many in- stances convicts far gone i0 crime, and hard ened in vice, have been rrclaimed ny the stern and subduing power of uniform labor in silence with solitary confinement during the hours of rest aided efficiently by the re- forming and benign influence of humane traatr,ent and regular moral and religious ip-