The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1889-01-03
The Convict Leasing symtem.

The manifold abuses and horrors
Of the penitentiary leasing system IN
this State--its grasping avarice, It's
unhuman cruelties, and its dark and
shameful record of blood and mur-
der and dishonor, can never be reveal
cd in all their naked hideousness un-
til the final Judgment itself. Its re-
cord is so black with compounded
crime and.infamy that one can scarcely
contemplate it with composme or even
liberation. Yet it is a subject that
should he considered at this time
without passion and without preju-
dice 10y the people Of Mississippi, to
the end that correct solution may
I've reached once for all regarding it.
Ever since the Legislature of 1880
passed the Act providing for the con-
victs Co be leased out to the highest
bidder, the idea has prevailed with
law makers and people, that the first
concern of the State is to speculate
upon the labor of the wretched Grim
inals who from time to time fall into
its custody. True prison reform has
had no place or thought. With the
speculative idea predominant, they
were first leased to Hamilton, Allen g.
Co., who in turn sublet large numbers
of them to Otherparties, and when the
cruelties and barbarities incident to
that lease had become notorious and a
change was demanded by an outraged
public sentiment, another lease was
contracted with the Gulf& Ship Island
Railroad Company for pecuniary
consideration. The same cruelties
and disregard of State authority
which had characterized the admins
tration of tho former lessees, were
here repeated and in some instances
aggravated, and the Penitentiary
Board of Control finally found it nee
essary to declare the lease cancelled.
Since that was done, the Board have
released a considerable number of
the convicts to different parties to
work on Delta plantations, levies, etc,
in squads of % to 100. Stricter rules
have been promulgated, the employ
ment of any of the old professional
guards and task masters forbidden
and other precautions taken by the
Board to secure kind and humane
treatment, but with all this, it is safe
to assume that there will be little or
no cessation of maltreatment of
prisoners. The essential conditions
which brought about abuses in
the past still exist. Men, with Il de-
sire to make money out of convict
labor sufficient to make it remunera-
tive to themselves and pay the State a
stipulated hire, have them in charge
scattered around Oh isolated planta-
tions and levee works, land the abuses
will go on. In fact, it has been quite
clearly demonstrated, that it is not so
much the particular men who may
lease the cOnvicts as the leasing sys-
TEN itself which is at fault. The State
leases them to make money, the men
to whom they are leased hire them to
make money, they are generally
placed in charge of subordinates
from under the eyes of the State
officials, and abuses follow as natur-
ally as effect follows cause. A num-
Der OF. outrageous brutalities have been
reported from Bolivar county since
the lease with the Gulf & Ship Island
Railroad was cancelled, and others
will doubtless soon follow.
We believe the Board of Control
desire to do what is best, but we be-
lieve they have made grave error,
in the face of all past experience,
in leasing out the convicts again I'M
der almost identically the same con-
ditions. The only remedy is absolute
State control and supervision.
Finally, the people should demand
this, and the next Legislature should
provide for it. Away forever with the
idea that the State must make money
out of her convicts at the expense of
humanity and every Christian i'm
pulse. Any system which recognizes
money making and not reform as the
controlling principle in prison manage
ment is essentially wrong. Let us
have no more of it in Mississippi,
even though it should cost few
thousand dollars annually to treat
the convicts like human beings.