Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1868-08-01
The Grand Jury-The Condition Of the

This morning Judge Wylie discharged the
Grand Jury from further service at this term
of the Criminal Court, thanking them for their
ate ndaD &C and service.
The Grand Jury presented the following to
the Court: "The Grand Jury Of this county
in concluding their labors for this term feel
and the officers Of yeur Court their thanks for
me courtesy. Kindness, and attention which
they have received during the term of their
session The large number OF witnesses called,
many OF them living in the county, and not
easy OF access during the heated term through
which We have passed, rendered the labor of
the Ballins very severe, which IL affords the
Grand Jury great pleasure to say was per-
formed with cheerfulness, promptness and
dispatch. We have been informed that these
officers are not allowed by law TO detray the
cost OF horse hire to reach witnesses living
ing outside of the city or within easy distance
of street railways, but must either incur the
expense themselves or walk the entire dis
lance. We respectfully suggest that the atten-
non OF the law making power should be called
TO this fact and invoked TO make provision for
the more easy performance OF this onerous duty
We respectfully represent to your honor that
the rooms appropriated to the grand and petit
Jurors are uncomfortable, badly ventilated.
and worse furnished. We hope that we are
not assuming too much when we say that we
can see no plausible reason why men should
be confined IN these rooms when they are re.
CURED 10 deliberate upon questions affecting
the life and liberty of their fellow .creatures,
surrounded by physical discomforts calculated
10 affect the temper and consequently disturb
"the nice balance Of the mind" when every
appliance of comfort and onvenience which
can render men cool. deliberate and calm are
so essential 10 the easy, prompt and careful
perfor nance of a serious and highly respon.
sible duty. We hope that your honor will use
your influence to produce 4 reform in this
matter, which an inspection Of the room will
convince you is loudly called for.
About three hundred cases have been before
the grand jury for consideration. many of them
Of very grave Importance. In making up our
decision in these cases great care was taken TO
arrive 1T just conclusions, and much time,
perhaps more than necessary, was consumed
in the examination of witnesses. II any errors
nave been made IN making indictments we can
safely say they have proceeded rather from
too much than too little solicitude: that the rela
tive rights of society and individuals involved
in these cases should be fairly tried before
your honor's court. Some cases, We feel con-
strained to say. We're OF the most trivial char
acter, and In our opinion could and should
have been settled by the magistrate by whom
they were sent to the grand Jury. Apart from
the time consumed in The Consideration of these
cases, the Government is involved in costs for
illnesses, and ell TO no purpose whatever. We
respectfully suggest TO your Honor that some
reform is required In this matter.
In accordance with custom, the Grand Jury
nave made an official visit to, and inspected the
Jail. We found there one hundred and three
prisOners-ninety males and thirteen females.
OF TINS number, fifteen were boys under Is
years. nine OF that fifteen under lG years of age
The demoralizing effect produced upon the
character of boys by combining them with old
and hardened offenders, and that some meas
ures should be taken to separate them from
such communicating influences, is SO obvious
that II requires no comment from us, and We
trust that separate place of confinement may
be speedily provided for them.
The Grind Jury, accompanied by the
Physician, the Warden. and his well organized
and efficient assistants, visited and inspected
every department. OF the Jail. and it gives US
pleasure 10 bear testimony 10 the good order and
cleanliness that eyerwh here prevailed. To keep
building of that character clean, considering
its construction and the habits of most of thu
prisoners. IS a work OF much greater magni-
tude than can be supposed by those who have
not Giyed into its hidden recesses; the most
lavish expenditure of lime and water, must of
necesslty De used 10 make the air within its
walls AT all bearable
1t will be difficult to find building of mod
ern date more unsuted TO the purposes for
which II was erected than the Jail OF this coun-
ty; the interior seems TO have been arranged
without any definite plan, too much space is
appropriated TO rooms on one side leaving so
little on the other as TO be totally Inadequate to
the security, and destructive TO the health of
the prisoners. The rooms on the south side of
the building generally, occupied by female
prisoners are larger than necessary, yet they
have no convenience or appliance for cleauli-
ness within them, everything that is required
for the use OF the prisoner must be taken in and
then taken out of the rooms; very mconveni-
ent, sloyenly and costly necessity, and which
could be entirely avoided by a comparatively
small expenditure of money.
Numbers of prisoners are frequently secured
should be taken sick they must be removed to
the hospital-a very troublesome and danger.
Gus proceeding. If the rooms were properly
contracted, about half the present size, furn.
Ished with proper facilities for cleanliness, and
occupied by not more than ten persons Al one
time the prisoners could receive all the care
and attention required, and the necessity of
removing the sick TO the hospital could b.
avoided. Passing TO the north side-the divis.
ION assigned TO male prsoners-the architec.
tuTal enormlty OF the building culminates
q m M a hny
up in a narrow passage not five feet wide, most
OF them in state OF semi-nudity-the excess
sIve heat Of the place rendering clothing
oppressive. This space they occupy dnriug
the day. with the privilege Of going in:o
the cells opening on this passage, where they
are confined at night. These cells are eight by
ten feet on the floor with arcbed ceilings near
ly resembling bakers oven in shape, with
no ventilation whatever, and the only ingress
for air and lights is through a grated iron door:
they are occupied at night at this time by five
persons each and we have ascertained by ref.
erence 10 the reports Of former grand lures that
il has been found necessary sometimes from
the mum Der of prisoners in Jail to confine from
ten TO tsn TO fifteen in each. While we stood
contemplating these dens and reflected upon the
barbarity Of combining five or ten human be.
ings within their walls at any season, but es
pecially during the no: nights, of summer
with the mercury standing near one hundred
degrees in the open airswe felt humiiated for
our age and country tnat such inhnman, de-
grading cruelty should be permitted aud were
forcibly rem inded of passage from a pungent
satire on Prison Discipline in our mother
country, published about the beginning of the
present century:
:" From his birthstone bed at break Of day.
walking the devil is gone,
To visit his snug little farm, the earth,
And see how his stock goes on.
Coming by Cold Bath Fields,
He saw a solitary cell,
And the devil was pleased, for IL gave
Him hint for improving his prisons In
HE'LL
The records OF crime afford melancholy ev.
idrnce that his Satanic Majesty has g. stock" on
this continent, and has extended his walks 70
our country; and IL the sufferings of one soil.
tary prisoner confined in n cell of the "Cold
Bath Fields" prison, in the city of London,
could have given him passing pleasure, how
intense ust be his qualification w hen he passes
through the Geld Bath Fields Of the city of
Washington, where he can see, not one, but
groups OF five and ten miserable creatures
whom crimes or misfortunes have consigned
10 its cells. seething, gasping, writhing in
'squallid wretchedness, bearing the outward
semblance of humanity, but /. spirit degraded,
by the cruelty Of their fellow men, to a level
with the brute creation.
While the preservation Of morals, the secu-
rity Of life and property demands that the laws
enacted should be rigidly enforced, yet it can
conserve no principle of morality or jus.
tice 20 execute the penalty for their infraction
with debasing cruelty upon the criminal.
The spirit Of laws for the punishment, or
rather for the prevention of crime, contem.
l1afo hn nnrA Nnf.l nf thA