The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-06-27

man, after reading ten cent literature for a
few weeks is not proper candidate for the
penitentiary. but needs a little wholesome
training; education in more than books and
beach oil: he needs some common sense
training, and the penitentiary is not the
place to give it to him. He is unjuStly a
convict. The ways of criminal life are
only made easier by term in prison. when
if proper plan had been pursued he could
easily have been corrected and started in
life Alright
The lunatic, no one will claim for an in
stant should be confined in prison. He is
mentally diseased and should be in an insti-
tuition where he can be properly treated,
perhaps cured. and placed in way of MAX
ing an honest living. Yet there are luna
tics in every prison of which l have any
knowledge. The milder term of ''crank" is
applied to them, but this does not change
their mental disease. AS long as they can
be kept in prison with anything like safety
and control, it is next thing to an mpos-
sibility to get them into the insane asylum.
Many man goes out of prison an irrespOn-
Sible lunatic, incapable of earning an honest
living and perhaps dangerous to human life.
Every prison official in the country will cor
rObOrate this statement.
The penitentiaries of our country are
too much secluded in their management and
internal history, and the public, as well as
the individual who suffers unjust imprisOn-
ment, are the losers. 1t is only occasionally
that an eXOrbitant sentence, or discovery
OF one entirely innocent who has served a
long and painful imprisonment, calls the
public mind to think of the prison. When
boy of sixteen was sentenced in Iowa, a
short time since, to seventeen years for lar
ceny, and two boys in New York were SEN
fenced to thirty years for the same offence,
few papers raised the cry of injustice; but
who stops to think of the magnitude of
such sentences except those closely connect
ed by friendship. or the ties of kindred.
The average reader passes it over with, 1T
is too bad" and thinks no more of it. If,
after serving a long term in prison. it is dis
covered that one is entirely innocent he is
discharged and lost sight of. But let the
intimate friend or relative of any one of my
readers. on the outside. be the victim. and
what an injustice disclOses itself. Every
honest person should take the same inter-
est in such matter that they would if an
intimate friend was the sufferer. How
many men are serving long sentences. some
of them doomed for life, who would not
have been imprisoned at all. or if impris-
Oned, but for a short time. had all the cir
cumstances surrounding the act been
brought fully to the knowledge of the Judge
and jury. And why were they nOt?" you
ask. Simply because it was impossible in
the atmosphere in which the trial was had
There is one other class of acts considered
criminal. where the loss of money is the
principal grievance, and where the idea of
crlmlnality is secondary consideration.
The clerk, for example, spends the money
OF his employer. If he returns it. no one
will think OF prosecuting him, but if he does
not return it the grevOuS crime of embeZ
Element is apparent. and with the necessary
venom the employer appears as a witness
for the commonwealth. He is sorry for the
boy, but THE LAW MUST HAVE IT'S
COURSE" The boy is branded as crimi-
nal and must go through life as such.
Where did criminality begin? When he
took the money, or when he could not com
ply with the employers demand to repay
it? When the employer discovered the
money was gone. did he begin criminal
prosecution at once? Oh. no: he Offered to
accept the amount missing and say nothing.
The spirit and letter of the law says that he
was at that time himself criminal, for he
offered to compromise a crime; but who ever
heard of one being convicted for such an
offence? The young man could not repay
the money, and no friend came to his res
cue. he is convicted and required to serve
long term of imprisonment Who is bene-
fitted? You answer, Society. by the ex-
ample" l answer, Fool" He was not a
criminal before he took the money; he took