Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-04-25
o d OA n LII 4TtbIuen
]. N. KUHN, !.
q. >. narsnaps government Prison.

| o. s. maFsnaPs Government Prison.
The deception and treachery used by the U
s. Officials to steal Bushnell from the custody
of Sheriff Wightman and incarcerate him in the
Government building, are familiar to our read
ers. 1t was an outrage on the rights of citi-
zen worthy of the officers of Lecompte, in the
paImiest days of Kansas border rufianism. By
reference to the acts of Congress, the laws of
Ohio passed in accordance with such acts, and
decisions of Judicial tribunals, there is no au-
thority for the Marshal to make prison-house
Of the Government building. 70 prove this,
the Herald gives synopsis OF those acts, those
laws and those decisions, as follows
The Congress of the United States, by Joint
resolution, adopted in 1889, recommended the
several States to pass laws permitting the use
of their jails, prisons, &c, to the u s. Courts,
TOR the confinement of prisoners and convicts.
| March Sd, 1871, another resolution was adop-
ted, authorizing the U. s. Marshais, in the
States which had not complied with the above
recommendation, acting under the express or
der of the U. S. Court, to provide temporary
places for the confinement of prisoners
An act Of March Sd, 1921, embodied the same
provisions into the form of law.
An act of March I'd, 1888, made the same
provisions in reference to States which had
once complied with the recommendation of
| 1889, but had subsequently repealed such stat,
utes.
The act of June 1884, provides that when any
convict sentenced to any penitentiary of any
State or Territory, shall be imprisoned pursu-
ant thereto, he shall be exclusively under the
control of the State officer having the charge Of
said prison, dc.
The act of 1885, authorizes the Federal Court
in proper cases, to sentence to the houses Of
correction or reformation, &c,, in the several
States.
The act of 1856, provides forimprisonment in
the penitentiary ofa given State, in all cases
where the law Furnishes by imprisonment and
hard labor
il is believed that the above acts and resou-
tions contain all the Federal legislation now in
force bearing on the subject. And 10 will be
seen, that it is those States alone which have
failed to furnish jails and prisons for the custo-
dy of the United States prisoner; that the Fed.
eral Courts have authority to provide the means
for the custody Of their own prisoners That
in the States which have provided prisons for
the use of the Federal Courts and authorities a
Marshal can confne his prisoners nowhere else;
nor can a Federal Court make an order by
which he can be legally held elsewhere.
In compliance with the recommendation Of
Congress embodied in the resolution Of l7e9, the
Legislature Of Ohio in 1906 passed a statute
placing the jails of the State subject TO the or.
ders Of the authorities OF the United States, and
obligng the Sherfis and jailoFs, under severe
penalties to receive and keep all prisoners charg.
ed with infractiOns of the Federal laws This
statute is in full force.
One case bearing directly on the question has
been edjudicated in the Federal Courts Ran
dolph We. Donaldson, 8 Cranch, Rep 76. One
Balm was committed for debt, by order of the
u s. Circuit Court, and placed in the Jail at
| Botetourt county, Virginia, from which he es-
capped and this suit was brought against the
Marshal to recover for the escape. The material
question was whether the prisoner was in the
custody Of the U, s. Marshal and the escape
from him.
Justice Story, in delivering the opinion and
judgment of the Court after referring 10 the To-
gislation of Congress, says--"When prisoner
is regularly committed TO State Jail by the
Marshal, he is no longer 10 the custody Of the
Marshal, nor comfortable by him. The Marshal
has no authority TO command or direct the keep
on in respect to the nature Of the imprisonment
For certain purposes, and 10 certain intents, the
State jail, lawfully used by the United States,
may be deemed the Jail Of the United States, and
the keeper TO be keeper Of the United States. ~
The opinion discusses the question at length
aud was concuTred in by full bench, and ex.
plicitly determines that while q United States
prisoner is committed to the Jail Of a State, he
is in no sense in the custody Of United States
Marshal.