People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1896-11-13
WRIGHT'S HOT TALK.
Cites Cases Where Inhuman Pun
ishment Was Enforced.
ARE TREATED BARBAROUSLY
The Report Deals With the Sub.
ject in a Decidedly Sensa-
tional Manner.

Perhaps the most sensational re-
port to ba submitted to the present
legislature is that of Captain r. f.
Wright, special commissioner ap-
pointed by Governor Atkinson to in
vestigate the condition of the mis-
demeanor conyicts of the State.
The commissioner deals with the
subjec5 with gloves off, and he makes
some startling charges against certain
camp Officials. The report was sub
mitted to the governor several days
ago, and it accompanied his message
to the general assembly.
Captain Wright says that very lit
tie attention is given to the comfort
or sanitary condition of the sleeping
quarters; some sleeping in rude
nouSt with no floors, some in tents
on the bare ground. The bedding,
he says, is generally scant and filthy,
frC lently full of vermin. He says
thst in a number of camps no fire
is allowed, even in the coolest
weather.
Captain Wright says that, with few
exceptions, he found no hospital
buildings for the sick and no prepare
ton for their care, comfort or medi.
cal treatment.
The commissioner says that in soma
places he found female and male
prisoners working together, the
females in male clothing. lie says
the authorities declared that the
"male mode of dressing was less in
the way, and besides, it seemed to be
the tendency Of the ew woman"
The commissioner cites one in
stance where he found that five con-
viots had been cruelty treated,
whipped so that the marks plainly
showed several weeks after the l23an'
ishment was administered. He saws,
thai the punishment must have been
cruel, brutal, savage and barbaroug.
| Gs64f iha] WROTE, tie report is de-
sensational, and it is destined
to become an important document
during he deliberations OF the gen
eral assembly. The report in full
follows
REPORT OF CAPTAIN WRIGHT.
Report Of Il. u. Wright on the Con-
0ition of tic Msdememor Con-
victs OF the State
To his E,ecel!eney, w. Y. Ahiasoa,
" pCCI ftDE
sIR-Having been requested by
you to report on the work in which |
have been engaged fer tbs past month
or two, viz: inspecting the condition
OF the mIsdemeanor ohaipgangs of
the State, and the oonviots therein
co.1iaed, l beg TO submit the follow.
ing, although the inspection, has not
yet been completed, as there still
remain perhaps fifteen chaingangs
which l bave not visited, including
those lcc1ted in the most popu'ous
counties 10 the State.
Since my employment l have
visited thirty. three chaiuga age, Local
ed in the folio wing couuties: Ogle-
thorpe, Ccffee, Dooly, Wilcox, Bald
win, Echols, Lowndes, Laurens, Pat.
nam, Wilkes, Newton, Jasper, MOI
gan, Berrien, Lee, Irwin, Pulaski,
Washington, Ware, Thomas, Jetfer-
son, En- anuel and Greene, and to the
best of my ability, Investigated each
thoroughly and conscientiously, with
the single idea Of ascertaining and
reporting the true condition of each,
and OF the system under which they
ara operated.
OF the thirty three camps visited
twenty six are worked by private in
dividuals, and are of that class which
the supreme court has recently held
to be illegal, and of the remaining
seven, five are regularly organized
county ohaingangs, and two are
worked j 'intly by county and mum
opal authorities.
The total number Of conviots i'm
prisored in these gangs is seven hun
dred and ninety five (795), of which
there are twensy-seven white males,
no white females, seven hundred and
forty-nine GAO colored males, and
nlneieen oolored females.
The average length of sentence l