The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1891-09-11


offenses. The law should be so
changed as to raise the division be-
tween petit and grand larceny to
$50, $75, or a 500; and petit larce-
ny and offenses Of like grade should
be made misdemeanors, punishable
by confinement in the work-house
of the county in which the offense
was committed for similar lengths
of time to that now provided for
their confinement in the peniten-
tiary. These short-term, minor
felony convicts constitute large
proportion Of the States criminals.
Atpresent S03 are serving out SEN
fences under five years, and 402
under three years,
Each county should pay it's own
criminal costs and manage its con-
victs of this grade. No county
would have more than it could work
on the public roads, bridges, ETC.,
or on the county farm to provide
food for themselves, the inmates of
the county jail, and the poor-house.
Four counties in the State supply
about half Of the convicts, Shelby
having 408; Davidson, 223; Hamil-
ton, 50; and Knox, 65, large part
being minor-felony criminals.
The other counties would not
have, upon an average, more than
10, and no county would have more
than it could mobilize for work
wherever desired. Moreover, these
criminals not being vicious, and be-
ing confined only for short term,
the danger from escapes would not
be great. By this policy the sup
ply of criminals to the penitentiary
would be cut off so per cent, and
the prison problem rendered much
easier dissolution. The State would
be saved the expense of criminal
costs, of transportation, and of adj
ditional guards required for their
safe-keeping. The character of the
short-term convict is made worse,
as general thing, from the contact
with the more vicious criminals in
the State penitentiary.
Inpoint Of fact, only those whose
liberty is dangerous to society ought
to be incarcerated in the State pris-
on.
The time Of this session is short;
but if you will concentrate your le-
gal talent upon this work Of revis-
ion, | believe that it can be effect
lively done. In reviewing the Grim
inal laws the relation Of criminal
jurisprudence to prison discipline
should be born in mind. The OBJ
ject of criminal law should be the
: protection of society, the proven.
) ton of crime, and the reformation
Of the criminal.
: It's administration has been, to &
great extent, in a vindictive spirit
! and law-givers are prone to look nc
! further than avenging violated law
l A more comprehensive view of the
subject looks beyond the protection
of society by depriving the crimi
nal Of his liberty, toward checking
the growth of crime by reforming
the criminal. Criminal law should
act on the defensive, retributivean C
] reformatory principles; but whe1
$ it acts only on the retributive prin
ciple, and treats with indiscriminat,
e rigor all who violate the crimina
: code, it may destroy the possibilit,
of reformatory prison discipline.
! The impossibility of properly ad
| justing penalty to guilt by law ha
: given rise to the indeterminate
= or the "suspending sentence" ant
conditional liberation by parole
The court decides the question O
guilty" or mot guilty" of tn
! crime charged upon theindictment
1 but leaves the length of the time 0
. punishment between the minimum
i and maximum terms provided b,
the statutes, to be determined b,
the good behavior and character 0
0 the criminal as ascertained by th
: prison officials. For example,
/ the minimum and maximum term
It for the punishment of "a given Grim
y are FIVE and ten years, the prisone
/ may, by his good behavior and ey
e licences of improvement in charaC
/ ter, win his liberation upon parole
y which issubject to withdrawal upo
/ violation Gifts conditions; but if h
s. does not SO deport himself as to dC
Il serve DarOle at the exniration of th