The Richmond Indiana palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1854-1855, 1855-02-09
House of Refuge.


the Legislature the establishment of Houses Of
Refuge for Juvenile offenders. He says
The constitution that you have sworn to sup
port, declares that the General Assembly 'shall
provide houses of refuge, for the correction and
reformation of juvenile offenders Of two hun
dred and sixty seven men in the State Prison,
thirty six under twenty years of age; and
more than onehalf of the whole number are
under twenty five years of age The youth of
sixteen is found by the side of the old offender.
and deprived of all associates, other than those
who are hardened in crime. All prisoners con
victed of the first ofense, and all youthful con-
victs should be placed in situations where they
would receive the kind advice of parents, guar
dians, or friends By adopting this policy, our
prisons will soon become houses of reformation.
well places of punishment
Whatever force may lie in this constitutional
I'M junction. 1t seems to us that no Legislature can
disregard the recommendation of the Governor
ana DO duty. The wiser as well as the more
benevolent philosophy of our day. which uses
punishment rather TO reform the criminal than
revenge society upon him, exacts the establish
ment of prison system which shall allow good
influences free opportunity to operate on young
offenders. @1t 5 not only inhuman, but in every
sense of the word, it is impolitic to associate
young coLvicts with those whose influence can
not but be pernicious. The prison becomes to
them, in such cases, schools of crime, in which
the State pays the tuition bills, and furnishes the
teachers. 1t amounts. in effect, TO clothing and
feeding young rascals in order to make them
old rascals, and more dangerous to the State in
consequence of their punishment. That this is
the effect Of such prison discipline as ours needs
no proof but the recalling of the lamentabe fact
that few convicts, old or young. become
honest citizens. Once out of jail or pententiary,
they conceive themselves objects OF dislike or
derision to everybody; and they think COM
munity detests them, they defy community.
Let any man imagine himself in the situation
of released convict, and he easily see how
natural almost necessary, is the feeling, which
makes men and boys acorse for being punished
as they punished. And the perception
of this fact. reveals the foundation of the true
policy of punishment. It is 10 allow the
Governor says. "thc kind advice of parents,
guardians or freods,'' to be freely give1--to
allow the sympathy which struggles in many
friendly bosom, W hen ignorance or bad influences
have brought youth to the felon's CELL to reach the
telon's ear, that he may know that there are
those who feel for him. and would rejoice to see
him redeem himself The Governors policy
would allow naotigs for good conduct to be in
fused into the convict, which under our present
system Is hopelessly shut out, or counteracted
by peruIcIous associations. 1t would give the
STATE in the released criminal. man with some
incentive TO better himself. Any other inhicss
upon the S,ate worse man than first entered the
prison
Il is almost impossible to conceive that boy
or young man, any man, could return to
ciety, after year three years Imprisonment
under such systems as those of Auburn or Phil
ade! phia, better in feeling and hope than be was
before. Il Is not IN human nature TO be improved
bv such means Bad feeling may be cowed
but il can't be cured by il. Legislature are
actually, palliate it NAV, making and har
dening criminals by impolitc systems of pun
ishment. That this is not what punishment
was meant for, is very certain. The Governors
wise recommendation looks to a remedy, which,
whether ctfectual not. can't be so bad as our
present systcnl.-.Stats Journal