Huntsville gazette., 1882-04-29

F., The man who was convicted Of idleness
or who stole a cabbage or an apple was
liable to death no Less than the robber of
temples or the murderer Under the Ma
bama code for nearly all crimes there is
the same penalty of imprisonment at hare
| labor in the penitentiary, which in mee
than eight per cent annually of thoss SO
sentenced, results in death. A mas VINO
is convicted of vagrancy, or stealsl roast
ing ear, violated the gaming laws. or car
ryinp a concealed weapon. is liable to this
punishment no less than the robber or 'he
murderer. The unfortunate authors 81
there various offenses may be seen work
| ing side by side in the mines. eating at
| the same table, confined in the sane cell, !
and sleep in the same bed. The quality OF
| the punishment is the same, the time va
ries,
It NAV be thought that all these matters
| constitute problem involving grave ques-
tions in political science and appealing
for its solution to the student IN prison
ethics and political economy; and IN no
wav concerning the sanitarlan or the BOARD
| of Health, But when it is shown. as VIII
be done in what follows that more than
seven per centum of those who have peen
sent to the penitentiarv. have died OF the
unnecessary rigors of prison discipline 1t
then becomes great sanitary evil: ana d.
such challenges the sympathy and the ac-
tive interference OF the State Board OF
Health. The report Of an inspection OF
two convict prisons recently made to the
Governor of the State by your Health officer
and myself, discloses many excepii"naole
features, in sanitary point OF view. OF
penal servitude in Alabama; and to It you
are referred for information on all SUBJECTS
I of which it treats. But the evidences on
which it holds up the results OF penal ser
vitude in Alabama to the reprocation OF
this Association and of good men every
where, is to be found in the annual reports
of inspectors of the Penitentiary from 1871
to 1876 inclusive, except the reports OF two
years, 1871 and 1876 which have not
been able to obtain. Not that said inspectors
have ever found aught to condemn IN the
conditions of the prisons or the convlcts.
On the contrary they report, IN 1870, that
the management of the prison Is I'D every
way conducted by lessees and wardens, IN a
lawful and humane manner, IL 1913 that
they found the convicts well ted, clotpeu
and we'll provided for, and as well content
ed as possible under the circumstances. 10
1874, that the condition of the convlcts
have been generally well fed and clothed,
and kindly and humanely treated, and
that corporal punishment has only Deen
inflicted in extreme cases. These are fall
specimens of the reports made by the ln-
spectcrs throughout the nine years above
mentioned, and the picture present d
one which Sir Charles Rolallly or
Maconochie might contemplate with salts
f.ction and unqualifi dly approve.
1 If, however we compare these reports
with he somewhat detailed report above
mentioned recently made to the Governor
passed upon an inspection. made at a tilc5
when the prisoners are colfesSedly lii at
good if not in better co dition than eve
before We are forced to the conclusion
that time aud experience have slmpi,
taught the inspectors of this period, how
not to do it.
Iu Sing Sing, Auburn an Clinton pris
ons of the State of New York. the nverng,
number of c,nvicts for 1879 WAS 3.37
with Al deaths giving death rate of IL
per cent The average number in Penn
sylvania prisons WAS J73 with 81 deaths
giving death rate of LOG per centnm.
The aver ,ge number in tue Oaio Peniten
tiary in 1881 was $50 with Is deaths, Civ
lug death rate OF 80.
The average nuuber in the Altbam
Penitertiary for 1879 Was SGT with, 4
, deaths, giving death rate Oft per cen
tum. The average yearly per centage o
asaIs a Ihsl AaAg5g wa The CAV ~
erage yearly per centage Of deaths in th
Ala-aml penitentury for niue years wa
8,32. From the foregoing it will b. seel
that the death rate III the Al lhama peniten
tiary for d period of nine Years has beel
six hundred pr cent greater than tn,
death rate in the Albnru peuitentiary 70
a period of fifteen years
Had the de 18th rate III the Alabama peui
teutiary been the line the AuoHrn prl-
on, the number of deaths in the Alabami
penitentiary for the nine Years above III N
toned would have bsen AZ insteiG OF 291
In other words 255 convicts died during
the said nine years whose deaths may bt
fairly attributed to the unnecessary rgor
of penal seryitude in Alabama
They were senteEcel to hard lab r IL
the pententiary and they have been pu
death
From the same source | also learn that
while 149 homicides have fallen victims
the lawlessness of private citizens 255 per-
| ished by the llwleSsness OF the State. The
evil passions OF all the bad men who have
| been tried and convicted by the courts
have not been nearly so destructive of hui
man life as have been the misguided efforts
OF the State to protect society .-Jackson
Uiue Republican.