The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1889-07-13
Criminal E.09snnnses. -

Editor DEMOCRAT "A subject which
seems to he of great interest to our peO-
ple, and of great Importance to the di1-
ferent parishes in our State, is the ques-
tion of expenses in criminal matters.
It seems to me that this subject should
re teive careful reflection at the hands
o, our people, and it is the duty o1
every good citizen to suggest some luea
las to the manner IN which thls great
evil can be corrected.
The writer, after carefully rejecting
over this question, and having had some
experience in criminal matters as DIS
trict Attorney, takes occasion through
the medium of the press, to make q
suggestion as to the manner In when,
in his humble opinion, the evil can, to
great extent, be cured. g.
Take for instance the parish OF st.
Landry as an illustration. We have two
criminal terms annually. 1t is safe to
assert that at each of these terms there
are about thirty or forty cases which are
called misdemeanors, that is to say, the
lesser grades of offences; add the num-
Der of both terms and you have eighty
cases of misdemeanors. Now then, IT
! in these cases the accused parties should
be surely and certainly punished, but
by a mild and moderate sentence, I'D
nine cases out of ten the parish would
, these cases, because the defendants,
feelin assured that by entering the
:, nlea Of guilty and throwing themselves
upou the mercy of the COnrt, that pun
isbment would be applied to them'
h which. though moderate, would be Ger
tain and would be the cause OF saving
our parish enormous expenses, the ac-
cumuation of which Will involve het
in snch inextricable debt, that it Will be
| tn hapnma pVtrIrnTEU
It from this embarrassing situation.
d Suppose for the sake of argument,
that inatead of pursuing this plan, 1t Is
generally known that whenever mis-
u demeanor is committed, that the of
fender, even though he pleads guilty
and throws himself upon the mercy OF
% the Conrt, will nevertheless receive
+ harsh and severe punishment; the con
=, sequence will be that in the eighty cases
}" aIyeadv alluded to instead Of the ac-
cused parties entering the plea OF gull
"a ty, they will almost to man make
E. Cioorons and stubborn defense, some
A. times consuming a whole day, If n, no.
-. more, in the trial of a single case. Iht
State will be compelled to cite on al
average, say five witnesses, and the de
u fense ten in each case, and the average
es cost of each case tried will be abon
fifty dollars-by multiplying fifty D.
av $4,000 az the cost per annum OF Lryini
~ these trivial cases. Another difficult
% that will undoubtedly arise in case thes
~ small eases are not disposed OF III
n anmmary manner, will be, that IL con
1z, sequence of the greater part OF the tern
ot belng absorbed in the trial OF more I'm
portant cases, the District Attorney WI
finally be forced to enter a genefal no,'
proseGui as to these small eases, ana ttl
accused parties will go entirely nnWhit
IRE OF justice
.,, NV remanos here have 20 reterenc
y to anv fel. ny, or to any case which
oh any aver might send a man to the pen
lat tentl:i,y. allude entirely to that elias
ere of offences which are classified as ma
demeapors There are two evils wine
nd must be confronted,ga the questio
ent is. which of the two should be seiecte.
Unauestionably the answer VII! oe' u
u least of the two evils. Now then, J.
ed Ms see which is the least OF the tN
Ap- lis regret the necessity that seen
A. 10 require that in these misdemeanol
1p the punishment, though uniform shou
neal he moderate, but this course seems
he necessary, for the reason that S
NJ we're punishment, though evidently pr
ID; ner on general principles, will have &
rom effect OF adding to and increasing t
debt which, like grim monster
UNI. sah hangit-S oyel our parish, constantly
81 sd To- creasing instead of diminishing It's pl
,itl- portions. The exigenciessof the ca
RS; reaklre that something shouid De 40
: ,al in Older to meet and correct this eVh.
u There are denounced IN the caiehO
from of crimes and offences all such as 0ne
to he prosecuted, and Grand JuF
larry sLould be charged to indict 10 all ca
=. where the law has been violated, a
the expense of trial is not a sqfncls
}pel- reason to justify the Grand jury
st. throwing out case Wnefe tue eviuSi
pay and the law clearly makes it their d'
to indict: any other course on their p
rent would be a manifest violation OF tn
as oaths, ard any suggestion to that
'seo wnuld he calculated to mislead them
from The only way in which it occurs
me that the present difficulty can
-Ap. overcome. is in the manner lndlcai
:: T wonld be glad to hear the views OF
from different Judges and District Attorn
throughout the State upon this snbJ
ppeai as it ia to be supposed that almost
same condition of things exist Ill II
f'P of the other parishes as exists here.
ion ct throw out THIS luea as a az, 1uss 81
ed hopine that some one else will take
from the matter and reason it out. The
IN view is a good one-the question
wife, how are we to attain it2 These el
+; n,nns expenses to our parishes In CT
ompte nal matters should be reduced as N
sea "a nossible. and am satisfied that
'''""' is the opinion of all Intelligent
.nneal who feel an interest in the mate
nropress and development OF the
e-Ap- ferent parishes throughout the Stat
led; Very respectfully
l-Ap- JOHN n. OGDE