Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-10-14

oners confined there. recommend that
the necessary appropriation be made fol
that purpose. call your attention to the
remarks of the directors in their report 10
relation TO "ths improperly of sentencing
culprits for short terms on small offenses
to such an institution as this" The main
purpose of punishment is to prevent crime
and reform the criminal. In order to &C.
complish this purpose, criminal laws must
be punitory, but at the same time they
ought to be refornatory as far as practi-
cable. There are minor offences for
which the punishment prescribed is in the
alterDatve,-6ne. or Imprisonment IN the
county Jail, or in the state prison, 10 the
discretion of the court, depending on the
circumstances of the particular case. 10
some of these cases. the mllder punish.
ment of fine or Imprisonment in county
jail, proper for the purpose, would be sui.
fcieot, and answer all the purposes of
punishment, aud be much more likely TO
reform the offender, than the fixing on
him the intamy that attaches to state
prison convict.
But our jails are places of detention of
criminals of all grades and classes await.
ing trial, and usually affording no means
of separation ofprisoners; the most aban.
doned and hardened criminals being turn.
ed 10 with those whose offcnse is of the
lowest grade committed, Fperhaps, more
from weakness than depravity-thus OK.
posing the latter to the depraving inhu.
enccs of such associations. Such is geu.
orally the condition of our jails that sen.
tence to Imprisonment in them is. pracli-
caly, sentence to idleness 10 a school Of
vice. If a fine is imposed, the consc.
quence is often. from the poverty of the
offender. the same, as it results in impris.
onment till released by pardon. This
same mischief also extends TO cases of
offenders imprisoned in the county Jail for
the most triiing offences. Our jails are
defective as place Of punishment, 10 not
affording any means Of employment to the
prisoners. The very idleness to which
they are condemned tends to vice and
crime, which labor would be reforma,ory
in its influence, 1t probably would not
be practicable, OF least not within the
limit of reasonable expense, to convert all
our country jails into work houses, but
they should be so constructed as to pre-.
vent the indiscriminate intercourse of pris.
oners and criminals of every grade.
But l have long been cf the opinion
that work-house, to which prisoners from
different parts of the State, convicted of
certain minor offences might, under a lin.
tied discretion in courts of justice as to
The place of punishment, be sentenced.
would be of public benefit, and supply an
existing defect in the means of the sup.
preston of crime and the punishment and
'cform Of criminals. Possibly the CONVEX
sion of some one county Jail into such a
1ork-house might subserve this purpose.
think the subject is worthy of your con.
,ideration.
The other biennial reports, which
AVE not had the opportunity of examin-
ng, vii! be before you for your considera.
ion.
trust that in the performance Of the
'arious duties devolving on you. both in
INVESTIGATING the past and providing for
ne future, that true public economy will
DC observed, which neither transcends,
Tor fails to supply the Legitimate neccssi-
les of the State, and which will limit The
session to the time necessary to do dclb-
rately and well what the public good re.
luires to be done. ASAHEL PECK.
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER,
Montpelier, Oct. s, 1874.