The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-07-18

victed and unjustly imprisoned Let a
person be surrounded by friends protected
by all unbirmished reputation. with money
to pay for the best legal talent. and yet he
can be punished for a crime of which he
knows nothing. The plot may require
years for It's execution. 1t may be neces
sary to gradually destroy his reputation. to
ALLEVIATE his friends one by one, to involve
his resources in complicated operations end
ing in the loss of all. Then let that mans
enemy weave his Iinal plot with internal
cunning, and a chain of circumstantial evi
dence may be created that time alone can
break. If it is possible to use the criminal
statutes as weapons of revenge against
such man. think tor moment with what
ease a penniless, friendleSs. ignorant man
may be sent to prison for years or for life.
1t is an old, old saying. that For every
crime the law must find a criminal. :"
Shrewd crooks. those who do not as rule
get in the penitentiary. sometimes act on
this truth. Their victim once placed be-
hind prison bars, investigation is al an end.
and safety enjoyed by the real offender.
Next to the grave, a peutentiary is the
most secluded place for the retirement Of
an obnoxious individual. Quite respect
able people have been known to take ad
vantage of this fact.
The newspapers also have their victims
behind the prison bars. When the papers
roast a person accused of crime it is
generally with the best of motives. Some
/ times, however, they are deceived by ap
parenly reliable evidence. In such cases
why do they not devote as much space in
endeavOring to secure the release of an in
| nOcent man, when his innocence is ac-
knOwledged by the Judge and prosecuting
attorney. as they devoted to secure his
wrongful conviction? Simply because pee
pie do not care to read about dead men,
| Time, the diSclOSer of all mysteries. the
Fighter of all wrongs, is Ofttimes the only
friend of the injured, free or clothed in the
livery of crime.
In years to come, prisoner will be i'm
mediately released from the penitentiary
after the evidence of his innocence becomes
absolutely conclusive. He is now, if ''im-
mediately" means when he has earned by
hard labor. at prison wages, enough money
to pay an attorney or some one else
to handle his case; if Immediately" means
| when he has. by long years of good con-
duct, won the aid of prison officials; if
Immediately" means when he has secured
the assistance of the rich and powerful,
then he is Immediately given his liberty
after his innocence becomes clearly appar-
ent and generally acknowledged.
Scattered all over the land are societies
''fOr the propagation of the Gospel in for
eign parts" Missionaries are sent across
the seas; they penetrate the jungles seek
| ing for souls to save They may be doing
a noble work; their opinions should GER
tainly be respected But in every prison
! throughout the world are men and boys
suffering for crimes of which they know
nothing. Instead of devoting so much
time and money trying to make savages
| happy in a future world, why cannot a lit
| tie effort be made for the happiness of
white people in this world? Spend as much
time in searching the prisons of America
for the innocent therein confined. as is
consumed in the inStructing of ten Chinese
Sunday school scholars and the task will be
finished. Spend as much time in efforts to
distinguish the innocent from the guilty
claiming to be innocent, as is expended in
trying to pound a knowledge of religious
principles into the skulls of six Hottentots
and seven Zulus. aud this work will also
be accomplished.
The unrepentant criminals with money,
friends and brains do not deserve. nor are
they particularly anxious for the friendship
of the great and good public. But the in
nOcent. without penny, withOuta single
friend to aid them in their struggle for lib.
erty. and OfttimeS without brains enough
to create an interest in their cases, are, it
does seem, fully as worthy of the practical
sympathy OF the rich and powerful as any
human being, black or white. Speaking
the same language, warmed by the same
blood, suffering the horrors of wrongful
Imprisonment though stainless as the pur-
est of the land, they are passed by on the
other side. while thousands of lives and
millions of dollars are devoted to the well
fare of foreign and savage nations enjoying
all the natural rights of mankind.
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