Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1893-09-08
CONVICT NO. j

ed large part of my t
tentiary, where more,
oners were confined. I
required of me ths
cles week, the suH f..
from the lives ant
and women SO imprS
One morning, on v.se. III a
tentiary, and proceeding to the book
which contained the routine items for
the press, found his slip:
''No. 18,600 Edward Washburn,
life prisoner, sentence committed to
twenty-eight years, six months "
Here was something to be investi-i
gated. On making inquiry I found
that Edward Washburn had been re-
ceived on a life sentence in 1870, and
that now, after lapse of over twenty
years, the Board of Pardons - the
eternal source of hope for all prisoners
III tudb Otdtt = Hdu hctou upoh hio
case, with the above result. Even in
prison good behavior pays.
Each convict has certain number
of days deducted from every month of
his term, according to the length of
his sentence, if he demeans himself
properly. Thus it lies in the power
of ''long-time" man to gain years
of freedom. Allowing Washburn the
deduction each month for good CON
duct during the entire twenty-eight
years sentence, it caused his time to
expire on the following Sunday.
The next thing to do was to see
Edward Washburn himself The !
sations of a man who has been o
vict for twenty years, who has be
completely isolated from the
world as if he were dead a. -..
and who is then resurrecf
back to life and liberty, cam
40 !. !; u IT5eTtssr-g,JTss1 illoa-
I found my man wheeling q
refuse from the cook house, -...
occupation he had been ei
seventeen years.
4 The long years of prison life BIZ
their effect. The prisoner was
man, broken in body and mind, u
though he told me his age was AZ.
explained that 1 had permission tc
talk with him, and would like to heal
about his history. He smiled the
weak smile of enfeebled intelligence
sat down on his wheebarrow and be
gan with pitiful obedience, which
plainly bespoke the prison discipline
''How did feel when 1 heard | wal
pardoned? Well, it was SO sudden
like l JUS had to sit down. 1 had Civ,
up all hopes of ever gettin' out long
ago, but Mandy was true grit, she was
she never give up"
His next words were unusual. 50
don't blame nobody but myself fol
bein' here" he went on. Who eyel
heard of a convict before, who attrib
uted to himself the blame for being il
the penitentiary? Most conviets are
the innocent victims of vilIainous con
spiracies. They never even dreamed
OF committing the crime for which
they are serving sentence. Such {
yirtuous, upright and deeply wrongec
set of men can be found nowhere elst
as in prison
''It was all along of my bullhes ~
ness, but guess I'd -
the beginnin' of my
to hear it ALL When
years old, Jason Scott,
job of clearin 80 acres
where Pauldin' is now.
the town was only G.
log shanties. Jase was
younger than me. His f.
had come west from c
county and settled in Pa
was the only boys in the
the only young folks exc,
dy Pitcher. O
"We fggered on clearin' our lam.
winters, as our fathers agreed to give
us the time after corn huskin' was
done, proyidin' we helped them good
summers. Jase and me built a cabin
and there We intended livin' while we
was doin' our chopin and clearin'.
There was lots of snow that winter and
it come early. Oh, how 1 hate the
winter! The snow lyin' out there
in the prison yard brings the hull
thing back to me, and how happy Jase
z,,1 49, NO.,