The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-12-25
HOW TO PREVENT CRIME
Eminent CriminologiSts Preparing to
Place the Penal Code Upon a
More Scientific Basis.

has been good, he will be admitted to the
first grade, where he will wear clothing of
cadet blue and will he able to write two
letters and receive two visits IN each
month AT the end of the term of mini
mum sentence the prison officials will be
able to approve or disapprove his appeal
to the parole board. If he has shown a dis
position to reform he will be permitted to
go out into the world on parole. II not he
will continue inmate of the prison,
perhaps until the expiration of the maxi
mum sentence. In the meantime IL ale in
sists in making trouble he is reduced to the
third grade, where he is denied all privi-
leges, including that of being permitted to
read in his cell.
The successful application of such law
in many states has lead to the belief that it
would be an excellent reformatory measure
If II should be generally adopted, each state
and country working in union with the
Others.
Another matter that will be considered
is that Of the proper penalties to be applied
to various offenses. There IS a growing
feeling that the death penalty does not
have tendency to deter murderers from
carrying out their purpose and this is a
question that VIII be thoroughly discussed.
Those who are interested in this matter
are already engaged in compiling statistics
from which they expect to prove that life
sentence is far preferable from many
standpoints. In the same way there are
many students of crime who favor life
sentence the penalty to be attached to
armed burglary. In Ohio such a penalty
has already been considered and bill pro-
Vidng for Its enforcement has been draft
ed by Judge Dellengaugh. of Cleveland. 1t
IS to be presented to the next legislature
and the friends of the measure are conf
dent thatits adoption will have a tendency
to discourage the commission of such
crimes. The theory of this law Is that
4 la.
hands would not hesitate to commit muir
der to escape capture, whereas such an ex-
IRENE penalty would have a tendency to
make a man think twice before committing
his primary offense.
Among criminoiogists there is feeling
that there is soething vitality wrong with
the statute books, that the only way to dis
courage crime is to bring about complete
revision of the penal code. There are some
who believe that the penalties are too Sc
we're when enforced Unfortunately, and
there are others who hold that there is at
present altogether too much sympathy
with crime. There are some experts who
believe that the whipping post and duck
ing stool ought never to have gone out of
use and who insist that the lash, the lock
step, the striped clothing and the torture
chamber should still be encouraged There
are some who even uphold the theory that
the branding and mutilation of convicts
would be a deterrent to crime, but they
are exceptional The general opinion seems
to favor lighter but more scientific methods
of punishment, system of parole that will
Zoe international with the maximum penal
ty upon a second offence. The universal
adoption of the Bertillon system of meas
urements would make the detection of the
professional, or second offense, criminal
possible, and he could then be subjected to
the extreme penalty wherever he might be
arrested. If this system was in operation
the man who had become a criminal by
mistake or through the exigence of circum-
cumstances would soon be released and
permitted to prove his desire to reform,
while the habitual criminal would be put
securely out of the way for long term of
years.
These are but a few of the matters that
are to be discussed by the delegates but
they are enough to show the general scope
of the convention. To criminologists every
crime tells a story and it is upon this init
mate knowledge of crime and its commits
sion that they will base their discussions.
If there Is no immediate change in the Pc
nal code of the various countries as the di-
rect result of the convention the world will
read its discussions with interest and the
facts that are brought out will have a ten
dency to make men wiser in the devisng
of future laws for the government of GRIM
inals ard the punishment for crime.