Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1871-08-17
Written for the Herald
The Duration of imprisonment for
Crime,
By Urban c. CREAMER.

"Oulu NC Wei IOi US " investigate
more clearly the nature and object oil
this kind of punishment
While most all other expedients pro
posed or adopted for the good of the
common veal have been stamped with
the type of reform, it appears that the
mode of Imprisonment, as penalty
for offense, has been allowed to run in
its tll G ives. Why this is so, we
are not able to determine We believe
that the present system of imprison
ment is not only worng but inhuman
and, although we can hardly hope to
reform it in single newspaper article,
we wish to express our opinion as to
why we believe it wrong.
The claimed object of imprisonment
is reformation Now If the object be
to reform convicts, there are certain
important conditions connected with
this mode of reformation, which can
not possibly be understood or appre
ciated at the time of Imprisonment.
And the power which it requires to re
form q man of strongly vitiated mind,
may not only discourage another man,
but may subject him to a punishment
which is extremely unjust and unfair
We, therefore, believe that when a man
oversteps the secular bonds of his
country, that he should have such a
kind of punishment meted out to him,
as the temperament and the nature of
the surrounding circumstances seem
to demand. The magistrate who would
presume to dictate the reformation of
the assassin in the same length of time
that he would the man guilty of libel,
supposing them both to be incarcerat
ed for libel, would be attempting some
thing which would hardly justify any
hope of success. That the men who
commit deeds of crime are laboring
under a species of mental disease, is
very probable, indeed, it is the opinion
of most men who are acquainted with
the laws of the mind that it is infaIli-
bly, the case. Albeit, we do not be-
lieve that they should not be made
subsequent to the ends of justice in
a proper kind Of reformation. Because
they are not compos mentis they should
not be excluded from reformatory dis
cipline But when we take an intro
spective view of the present state of
Imprisonment, we find that the ways
and means made use of by the prison
code for the reformation of conviets,
are of rather dubious character. Hun
dreds of prisoners are crowded togeth-
er in the same prison. They receive,
no matter what the crime has been,
the same treatment If one be the ac
complice of murderer, he shares the
same mode of reformation as the man
sent there for minor offense. The de
luded and crime-steeped villain, who
plunged the knife into his fellow mans S
heart, is treated in kind with the limo
cent-the victim of perjury. If the
object of this mode of Imprisonment
is reformation, why is it that the means
of reformation are not brought into
employ? Why is it that they are not
treated in such a way that the vile and
sinful inclinations of their minds will
be dispelled. The daily regimen which
is served up to the lunatic, by way OF
reformation, is entirely different to
that which is made use of in reforming
the deranged convict. We would haz-
ard the opinion that the convict should
be treated in similar manner as the
insane. Because if it be true that Grim
inals are subject to monomania, and
we have strong arguments for its sup
port, they should be treated as such.
1t has been customary in the State OF
Rhode Island, we believe, to treat con
victs like men, that is, they make use
of the proper means of reformation.
A warden is chosen who understands
human nature throughly, and who is
able to mete out such a kind of treat
ment to each man, as the nature and
disposition of the man seems to war
rant, and when convict is reformed
he is sent home, irrespective of the ma
ture of the crime, or the time he has
been confined. The result is, that the
criminal acts are less frequent within
the precincts of that State, than be
fore the adoption of this judicious
system. And we are of the opinion
that if this kind of proceeding wa.
adoptedsin all the States, there woult
be less crime than there is now, anc
that it would be treating convicts in
more rational and humane manner
We believe the authority of debating
the duration of Imprisonment for com
mitting crime, should be taken from
the magistrate and left to the discre
tion of humane and intelligent war
den-one who is able to read the con
victs' hearts and prescribe the prope
treatment.
Power rOfMagnetism.
Chief Justice Chase is at the Mag
netic Springs, Michigan. and it is re
ported that the most remarkable chang
has taken place in MS appearance, ano
tbot tho i06iootiO0c frnpo Tho ,.oS,,vo,,