Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1857-08-14
% From the Rising Sun Visitor
JUVENILE oFFFNDrRe aa4 .

~ ~, ihliVh - ~ ~ htllcu III your
| paper Of The 2bth inst, that thorc IL
a boy IN the Indiana State prison on.
~ Ii years of age. iphe fact of the
imprisonment of this boy has got In.
TO the papers, may be- taken as some
bovidentc that his sentence II n hard
one. The boy referred to is, / pre-.
sumo Martin level; sentenced from
Jefferson county. nt,.i ha 4ai
! Martin was first arraigned before
tho Circuit Court for larceny, and
plead guilty 60 the charge; but In con.
scquoncc OF hIs youth, and the ab.
sonco Of former bad conduct, ho was
discharged BY tho Court without any
punishment. AZ tho next torn, 1
think II was Martin, was again ~.
ranged for n eimilnroffencc His cnao
was submitted 20 the Court for trial.
1Iew shown % be guilty and aitor
being udnionlshod by tho Judge, and
told that lfhe was again arraigned, he
would probably bo moro severely pun.
shod, ho was aont toltho county pris.
ON for short time, ~ punishment
for tho crime of-whioh he had Just
boon found guilty. AZ the very next
term, if am not mistaken, Martin
was again arraignod, charged with
another larceny, Ibis time, fearing
that more severe punishment ofwhleh
the Court had spoken at the former
torn, he chose 70 bc tried by Il Jury,
Thcy hnd IN evidence, clear proof OF
his gulltln the caso Immediately be.
fore them und nlao, evidcnco OF hiA
former convictions. NotwithatandIng
his youth, and tho lhot oil hIa lareen.
les were OF tho petit class, the Jury
thought u their duty 10 send him 10
the State Prison; and, no doubt un.
der, Tho circumstances, they acted
correctly, tI a
itia aiayorable Sign that thIa. cir,
epmAtanco has found It's way into tho
papers. 10 N some evidence that they
viii not apcndiall their time and dc.
yotoal their attentions 10 tho nifnIra
Of Kansas aud Nicaragua, or tho dls-
.cussion OF thequostion whether there
II oris not an open sea NJ the North
Pole.llr go us. Hau ia sss'af = 81 s.t..
Now, though have shown the cir
cumstanccs which produced n neces
slty for sonding the boy 70 tho State
Prison, have not yet dono what /
intended TO do when | commenced
writing. The following provision is
found In tho Consultation of our
State; sThe General Assembly shall
provide Houses Of Refuge lor the
correction and reformation of juve-
milo otlenders,"s Such Is the impera-
| tive language of the Constitution,
which our. acknowledgements,
Republicans and Amerlcana--swoar
70 observe aud support et caoh session.
Nearly six years have elapsed since
tho duty was imposed on the Legis-
latuic, and yet we are without u
= Houses, or even u House OF Refuge
In tho meantime, the Courts and ju-
RIGS are left TO dispose Of Juvenile
criminals In the best way they can;
having only u choice loft between the
State Prison, the couaty jail, and ex.
emption entirely from punishment
for'feIonv ithe)fhi ii'f f'iss'hae' ~ I
Nc, Nap person but one who Is intimate.
ly concerned in tho administration
Of crimininal law, has an adequate
idea Of tho painfnluoss Of the duty
which sometimes makes IL necessay
10 consigp n youth-who, with prop
or care, might be reiormcd--to an Us.
ISOLATION with hardened and aban-
doned felons. Humanity IL noble
sentiment; and, though itshould new
or be allowed 10 degenerate into that
sickly state which would shield the
guilty from such punishments ~ may
be necessary TO the ends Of good gov
ernmont, there In much room for its
exercise In tho administration ofcrim.
inal justice. a.H 'Hfa
The Legislature passed an act in
1855 on this subject. under which, |
believe, nothing was done. The pre-
amble TO that act shows the light in
which this measure was viewed. IL
IA as follows; "Whcreas, the Consti-
tuition of the state of Indiana re-
quires that the General assembly
shall provide houses Of refuge for the
correction and reformation Of juve-
nile offenders; and, whereas, common
sense and common humanity demands
that somo steps should be taken Mt
once within the State to separate the
youthful convict from tho veteran and
hardened criminal "Beit enacted -
&c. . The objects sought to be accom-.
plshed by the Establishment of these,
houses, arc the separation of the
young from the old and hardened
Offenders, and such a course of phys.
ical, intellectual and moral training
as will reform and restore them to So
ciety. 1t stands admitted by our
Legislature that common sense and
common humanity demand" their es-
tablshment, and yet IL is not done.
The act above referred TO, contem-
plated the establishment of one house
of refuge. The Constitution contem-
plates .'houscs Of refuge, "a and it is
! probable that its provision would not
be satisfied with less than two. The
form of our Stateis such that il might
be divided by line running east and
west, into two districts, and a house
of refuge erected at some suitable and
convenient point in each of them.
These houses might be used not only
4 for the young criminal convicted un-
derour State laws, but also for such
offenders against municipal regula-
htions as would be best disposed of in
'hthis way.
AS our laws now stand, there is not
one lin y twenty of the minors who
commit telonies of the ordinary kind,
I such as larceny, &c, who are sent to
the State prison for the first offence.
3 They are generally found in Jail at
the commencement of the Court, and
. being brought out and tried, are again
aapt fo foiI a. a m, ,ob,,,anf Nnor1x-