The record-union., 1897-12-17
THE INDETERMINATE SYSTEM

THE INDETERMINATE SYSTEM
The Los Angeles Express" as quot
ed and approved by the Santa Rosa
Press Democrat" has erroneous ideas
concerning the Illinois indeterminate
sentence law. They say that while it
has manifestly some advantages the
main feature suggests judicial unfair
ness, or cowardice.
Let Us see about that. Pathological
improvements, such as are aimed at in
the law referred to, are the result Of
human experience. They are not mere
theories and vague experiments. I'm
der the Illinois law Spalding, the Chi
cago bank president, convicted of en-
bezZlement, was sentenced to service in
the State prison at hard labor for one
year, and under the indeterminate sen
tence Act
That Act provides for each of the
several grades Of offenses a maximum
penalty. with a minimum Of one year
The criminal Is thus ordered to be in
generated for at least one year. and
possibly for ten, fifteen, twenty or thir-
ty years. His conduct in prison, the
evidences of refolsn that may develop
in his demeanor. etc, determine
limit OF the law. or be discharged or
paroled by the Prison Commission
earlia-.
Where this law does not apply, the
extent of the penalty is dependent upon
the discretion of the Judge of the trial
court 1t must be evident that under
the latter system there can be no uni
forInity Of punishment, and that there
must be great deal OF injustice In
this State We know of instances where
for comparative mild offenses convicted
prisoners have been sentenced to. say.
ten or fifteen years In prison by one
JudgA whereas in another court con-
v1ctad prisoners whose offending in the
same order Of crime was gross, malic-
ious and aggravated. received but two
or three years.
There was one case we recall. where
mere boy was sent up from Alameda
for long term, while a criminal for
precisely a similar offense. a hardened
offender and desperate fellow, was SEN
fenced for but a year or two. The in
eQua4ities Of sentence are almost as
numerous as there are prisoners. Not
tnfreQuently, it may be concluded. the
severity or mildness Of an applied pen
atty depends upon the condition OF the
digestive organs Of the court at the
particular moment Of pronouncing SEN
tence.
However, the tndeterminate sentence
law, which IS no new thing, proceeds
upon the belief founded upon long OBJ
servation and study of the lives of
criminals in and out of prison, that it is
better for society, for the State and for
the criminal to make the term of i'm
prtsonment largely dependent upon the
conduct OF the condemned. In case of
3ndeterminate sentences there is incen-
tive to submit to discipline; to gain
such credits as Will shorten the term
to the very minimum: to refuse to
break out OF prison, because such Of
Tending invariably visits the full term
upon the offender-indeed, such forfeit
ure of privilege IS specified In the Act
The law thus holds out TO prisoners
strong inducement 10 be obedient, in
oustrious and submissive to discipline.
1t puts a mans case largely into his
own hands.
Our contemporaries indicate that in
the Chicago bankers case the court. in
stead OF giving the culprit the full limit
of the law, evaded responsibility by
sentencing the man under the indeter-
inmate system. Therein they are in err
Tor. Generally where the indetermlnate
system is in the statute books. the max
inun penalty IS much greater than in
the laws under which the Judge exer-
cises his discretion Thus, If for en-
bezzlement the law prescribes that an
offender may be sentenced 10 serve not
less than one. nor more than ten years.
the ineeterminate Act will be found
to place the maximum as high as
twenty years.
That is our knowledge of all the in
determinate Acts we have examined.
that the maximum is very much higher