The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-05-02
Children of the stPen.s,
IN TWO PARTS-PART I.

Under the caption of ''InjuStce to Boys"
there appeared in THE MIRROR week be-
fore last very interesting communication
from NJ. B., one of our young comrades,
calling attention to the anomalous character
of his case. and unreasonable sentences
which are dealt out to prisoners of his age.
a few comments on which may not be out
of place.
Whatever intimatiOns may be advanced
as to the improperly of severe criticism
on indifferent legislation in dealing with
juvenile offenders. by the so called disre-
putable characters of an equally disreput-
able class. it must be pretty generally adj
mitted by every student OF the 'Star-eyed
Goddess" that-the branding OF boy just
entering his teens with the stigma of con-
vct. is fraught with far more evil than
good. The practice of Subjecting mere
children to the same rigorous punishment as
is inflicted on their elders forms among
their elder unfOrtuates a source of dis
cuSsiOn. always tending to excite a feeling
of the deepest contempt for state of af-
fairs which cOmpeS boys of tender age
to undergo the seventies of life that UNI
bends the strongest will. Every code of
laws has for its aim and object the prOtec-
ton and preserving inviOlate Of the cOnSti-
tutional rights OF every member or the
community, together with the providing of
penalties for violations of its statutes 1t
is an evident fact that the extent of reSpOn-
slbllty for wrong committed should. in all
fairness, be measured by the qualifications
OF the mind which conceived the perpetra-
ton of the wrong. and the punishment be
regulated in proportion to the graveneSS of
the otfense. Where a boy is charged with
crime the mere fact of his youth should, in
justice, be judged in itself as mitigating
circumstance. His inexperience. lack of
keen perception, the natural carelessness of
youth, inability to accurately distinguish the
difference of right and wrong, and in fact
the very nature of things renders him in
capable of perceiving with the more precise
understanding OF an adult, the full mean
ing and seriousness of his wrongful acts.
Youth seldom sins with willfuI intent: it is
the unprecedented impulse of the moment
which governs him in his eagernesS to over
step the bounds of bOyish prank. No
designed criminal intention. inordinate love
of gaudy nOtorety, or studied plans of de-
pravity. can be attributed as the cause of Of
lenses usually charged to juveniles, as their
mlSdeedS are GENERALLY of a character par
taking more OF reckless behavior than in
territorial crime, and it is assuming too much
to expect strict accountability for technical
breaking OF the penal code before they reach
the age of responsibility.
When arrested he is. of course, unable to
comprehend the forms, procedures and be-
wildering paraphraseS of legal lore which
greetS him on every side, and in his efforts
to disprOve the crime charged to him. he
only. too often. by his inability to express
himself, causes it to appear far worse than
it really is, in which he is ably assisted bv
the cupidity of officials who care nothing
for the justice OF his case, but look solely
to the fees which his conviction secures to
them. If. as the case often is, without
friends or counsel to guard his every inter-
est, and secure the rights and privileges
which law and the immunties of youth are
supposed to grant. he is, whether innocent
or guilty, completely at the mercy and dis
posal of the court which tries him. With
no one to advise or guide him, he must in
his helpleSSneSS rely on what he believes to
be the justice of his case. Placed on the
witness stand, before a crowded court room,
to tell his simple story, he feels. and is more
or less controlled by that annoying, creeping
sense OF fear, or stage-fright SO peculiar to
the detendent in a criminal trial. A cum
nlngiy WOrded question. asked in his con-
fusion, draws forth admissions which, while
to him meaning one thing, is by the word
ing of the question easily construed by
others to mean its very contradiction
Trained lawyers tear and denounce his evil
dence, impugn every good quality which
may be brought forward to extenuate the
case on trial, and characterize his every
movement as the manner and behavior of a
naScent criminal.
Take boy in his natural romping state.
and his every action will be looked on as a
poylsh 1rollc; but place him i'll court room
arralgned for crime and those same actions
Will be made to appear as the airs of