The daily gazette., 1878-11-13
Our Punishments for Crime.

1
not upon the offender, but upon his
family. When looS over our penal laws
their Titles, to my mind read between their
lines, "Acts TO punish pioes and children
o. hose ,oho utotdte their teynas.n Twas
constantly appealed to to pardon convicts
ior these reasons, and in some cases by
tue wives OF those who made the COM
plants upon which the wrong-doer was
convicted When this was told TO them,
their answer was, that while that was
true, yet when the husbands were In jail.
where they were fed and warmed, their
wives and children were left to starve and
freeze fol- want Of support. tfi y Il
There Is no perfect way of dealing
with crime, but there is no worse way
than the system of this State. Some
years ago a lawyer Of New York travelled
through Egypt. He met the chief of
wandering tribe of the desert, and, among
other things, he told this wild ruler Of
our laws, and the ways we dealt with
crime. He was heard with astonishment
and for the first time he himself was
struck with their absurdities. After his
return he used to say that he was never
so thoroughly ashamed of his country as
when he was telling his supplemented
auditor what laws we had upon these
subjects, and how they were enforced.
While we may not frame perfect sys-
tens, much can be done to make better
: state OF things-to simplify justice, and
to break up the tendency to disorderly
conduct and to vagrancy. We cannot
/: hope to make any marked improvement
; in our jails. Each county must have
one, and its population will determine
. the character of its place of confinement.
Those in charge of them will be fire.
e quently changed, and sane in the large
cities the number and character OF the
Inmates will not admit of classification,
I etc.
The first change should be one that
2 will allow our judges to impose punish
ments other than sending tue Offenders
to these common schools of vice.
As nothing can be worse than our pre-
I. sent laws, there can be no harm in try
ing new plans. We must have jaiis, as
there are cases when the safety of society
makes 1t necessary to lock men up. But,
as rule, other restraints can be be used
A which will check, not teach, crime. Our
laws only allow two punishnents to be
inflicted for minor offonses-tines or i'm
>. prisonment-and these must be imposed
without regard to age, sex, condition, OF
!. circumstances. The law demands these,
0, it matters not what moral or material
mischief they may do. As rule, fines
intiict distress on families and friends
', while jails are gateway to course OF
. wickedness which leads 10 the State
- prisons. For these reasons no punish
nents are inflicted until the offenders
o. have grown into hardened criminals who
excite no sympathy. There is no power
TO deal in right way with the first steI
q. in crime, with acts of mingled error anC
- wrong-doing. 1t has been my duty tt
= look into great number of such cases
. and have given much thought and study
to our statutes with regard to them. Mex
to moral and religious Influences. We
IS must rely upon the wisdom of our law
with regard to youthful offenders. 1t il
, comparatively an easy matter to dea
IN with grave crimes.
~ The first step toward reform Is to Civ,
re magistrates right, within certain limits
he to direct such punlshments as they shal
see are best fitted to reform wrong-door'
They have all the facts before them, an,
= best know what is just and right in eac
case. This will not give them undu
y powers, but 1t will take away pretext
m for not doing their duty. Now they mus
n fine, or imprlson, or discharge. la man
~ cases either of these courses is unsuitable
y r aud many wrong g-doers go Tree, Tor 70 ei
u force law would only make things wors,
~ ~ The state of things is full of evil.
a magistrates could bind them out to d
oil work, or direct the minors to be chasti.
8 ell by parents or guardians or sultaol
persons, many would be saved from th
moral leprosy which infecIs our jail
Sush or like punishmeLts would be II
fiji cted, aud there would be no excus
= for letting offenders escape.
III Magistrates should have In addition
their present powers the same right
control over vagrants, disorderly person
and habitual offenders which parents {
guardians have over their children
wards. The fact that these belong
these classes should be judicially deci
n ed after q cs rtain number of conviction
When they are thus enrolled in thes
classes, they should have no right to vo
at apy election. AS our laws now Stan'
ont notorious offenders who do no hone
work, who can only live in lmmor
'hu WAYS, are held TO be Innocent person
Ind when they are arrested, until the formi
technical, and sometimes expensl'
ar proofs are furnished that they are gull
of practices which there is moral ce
we. tainty they indulge In. This is rig
'nd when they are accused Of grave crime
aor But there is no hardship in putting SUI
persons into that state of wardship
md which the law places all persons who
under the age OF twenty-one years,
who are affli cttd with dlsordrred mn'
Should disorderly morals be more lei
I. emily dealt with than disordered int
lects?
There is no danger in giving mag
i, VI trates the bower over habituai onenue
aie ,her which parents and guardians have ov
D' minors-that of making them work,
IS. binding them out, and of locking tht
- up and, In the case of children, hayi
them chastised instead of sent TO ];
ACt There Is no reason to fear that this pl
JCU ishment will be used too often or !
barsbly. 1t would rarely be applied, !
e should not be made illegal, as it wo'
- give magistrates great control and wo,
n 90 much to put an end to the bravo
) and swagger of disorderly boys viii
- are so much admired by their weak
youthful companions.-H HoRATIo 81
ND MoUR, in Harpe,'s Magazine for Decent