The morning news., 1897-07-17

Victs are first thoroughly informed as 10
the prison rules. And that they know inst
What they may expect If they violate said
rules. In comparison with other peniten-
u&rles' the committee declares the Mis-
soufl prison makes a favorable showing.
, Although the investigatin committee,s
report contained no recommendation. the
johnson resolution started an agitation
that linally resulted i'm the aboli-
uon OF the whippng-post Under the ad-
| mmstration of Gov. Stone there was no
whipping Warden Pace had charge Of
| the prison then. He concurs with Gov
Johnson that whipping is too severe. Eek.
state senator Stark, of Cooper county. Il
the present warden. The whipping-posi
mas been resorted to but few times nm
| der the Stark regime. Yet the prisoners
| understand that il has been established
anu they look upon 1t with mortal dread
| Whipping has been abolished i'm nearly ALI
the state prisons. Delaware and Mary
| lahd are among the few that still cling to
| the theory that the lash does the prisoner
good
When the legislative investigation was
| made at the instance of Gov Johnson
! numerous witnesses were examined. The
| principal witness was Capt w. H. Brad
pury' who, for more than a quarter Of a
century was prison official ranking next
| 10 the warden. Before the committee
| capt. Bradbury readily admitted that II
! was ms custom to whip refractory pris-
oners He regarded It as a necessity "a
uIsclphhe. lie had in rare Instances
| known of prisoners receiving sevant n,
lashes, but usually the number was much
less. Sometimes. if the victim happened
! 10 De trail, the number was limited to
| TWO or three lashes. common rawbide
| whip was used
lie knew of one instance where a con-
VIZ rom 81 Louis named Stanton, sent
I g.
sulclde by cutting his jugular vein He
had dlsobeyed the rules and was sent 10
the solitary' Some of the subordinate
officers discovered that he had a knife
up mis- sleeve. This discovery was made
| after he had been put into the blind cell
me presence OF the knife was reported TO
capt. Bradbury. He went after the knife
Stanton would not let him apnroacb
Ihree days elapsed. Still Stanton was IN
the Dllnd cell. Still he refused 20 give I'm
the knife He swore he would XIII any
man who would dare put his head inside
the door. Capt. Bradbury hit upon a nov
81 scneme. lie procured a long iron rod
NJ NJ Lnaue nook on the end OF IT,
WIN this hook he tried
70 draw the unruly convict from the cell
stanton saw that he was to be taken out
lie had been whipped on previous occs-
sions. He rebelled against further casti-
cation. He drew the knife from his sleeve
WIN one plunge he sank the blade In his
throat '
There now it is done and 1 hone vou
are satisfied" he exclaimed
re teli fainting upon the floor of the cell.
Death ensued within half an hour.
Several Of the prisoners who had beea
subjected to the lash were interrogated bv
the committee. Some Of them told stories
oalgulaleu ,uu 10 Drand the whipping-post az
an instrument Of torture sin tbere ,yas
apreponderance of contrary evidence from
the prison officials and contractors.
Ihe evidence also showed that in several
Instances women cOnYicts we're pbipned
All OF the female victims were negroes
Inc men were stripped for whipping. but
garment.