Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-05-10
Sentences to the Reform School.

The attention of all concerned is invited to
| Act No. l0l, of the Acts and Resolves OF
the Vermont Legislature for 1870, that they
may see that authority is now given to
Justices of the Peace and to the County
Court, to sentence all persons under sixteen
years Of age, who are guilty of any misde-
meanor or criminal offence against the peace
Of the State, (save for the crime of murder)
to the Reform School, during the offender g
minority and to designate the time at which
he shall be regarded of age
We had supposed the intent Of the act to
be the requirement of such q sentence, so as
to put all who are adjudged needful tenants
of that institution, under instruction there
during the remainder of their minority; but
on examination we find the language of the
statute is . may" not shall.
1t appears, therefore, that the discretion
Of such scntenance is lodged wholly in the
magistrate We trust that power will be
exercised with Just views of the training Of
the Reform School for those who, so early IN
life. show proclivity to vice and crime
Windsor Journal.
| We do not understand the word " may >
| TO give the magistrate discretion as to the
| term for which juvenile offenders may be
sentenced to the Reform School. careful
reading of the acts relating to the Reform
/ School will show we think, that the dIscre-
ton of the magistrate is limited to the al
| tentative of q sentence to the Reform School,
or to Imprisonment in Jail or States prison,
/ such as constituted the sole penalty before
| the Reform School was instituted. The law
/ of the last session could not read : shall
. sentence such boy to the Reform School
until such boy shall become twenty-one
/ years of age, - because the court might see
! fit not to sentence to the Reform School at
III oh tbo 10 81
vides. and the law did not intend to take this
discretion away. He may" therefore sen
tence to the Reform School and # he senten-
ces TO The Reform School, the sentence must
I be until the culprit is twenty one, The war
I rant for commitment to the School prescrIbeF
this term and no other.
OF course il is understood that a sentence
to the School . uutil such boy becomes
/ twenty-one years of age is not an absolute
one The law elsewhere gives the Trustees
Of the School full power TO discharge any boy
upon satisfactory proof Of his reformation
so that a sentence till a boy shall be twenty
one. is in effect a sentence until reformed
within the limit of minority free Press.
We copy the above entire, for the purpose
Of adding, SO far as possible, to the position
taken by the Free Press, knowing as We do
/ from an official source, that a wrong inter
probation is being given to the act in some
/ instances.
There can be no doubt as to the intent OF
the language of the statute, which ie simply
that in case of a sentence TO the Reform
School, it must be for the period covering
the minority Of the person sentenced, with
a provision for an alternative sentence in
certain cases, to be enforced when " A. B.
shall not conform to all the rules and
requirements aforesaid, &c. Nothing, it
seems to us, can be made any palmer than
| the provisions Of this law, and being familiar
with the entire discussion during the pen
dency Of its passage, we have no hesitancy
in saying that if the makers of the law
could use language to make themselves IN
derstood, they clearly stated that they desired
to enact statute that would require a
sentence to the Reform School, " until such
boy shall become twenty-one years Of age,
and for no other period. A careful reading
Of the statute can leave no doubt in the
mind Of any Judicial officer who may have a
candidate for this institution to dispose Of,
unless he has been struck with d" judicial
blindness " to an unparalleled degree.