New-York tribune., 1901-09-07
THE PENALTY TEN YEARS.
IL THE PRESIDENT LIVES THE LAW
WILL DEAL COMPARATIVELY LIGHT
LY WITH HIS ASSAILANT.


LY WITH HIS ASSAILANT.
Should the President live the punishment
which could be meted out TO the man who tried
TO assassinate him would be trivial, in consider
alton of the enormity of his offence. The maxi
mum penalty would be imprisonment for term
not exceeding ten years and this might be
commuted for good behavior 10 the extent of
three years and six months. leaving the actual
imprisonment six years and half. Moreover,
the assassin is unuer the age of thirty the
trial judge could, in his discretion, send him to
the Elmra Reformatory instead of to an or
dinary State prison. OF course. there Is little
probability of the latter being adopted.
The crime having been committed within New
York State. the trial will necessarily be held
here. There Is Federal statute covering such
United States laws provide for punish
ing crimes committed within territory exclu-
sively owned and controlled by the Federal gov
ernment, but otherwise crimes are punishable
only by the State courts of the State within
which they are committed, and according to
the State laws. This would be governed by
Sections Nos. 21T and DO of the Penal Code, the
former of which defines the crime and the latter
prescribes the penalty Section 21I provides as
follows:
Assault in first degree dehned-A person Who.
felony upon the person property Of the one as
% Assaults another with loaded frearm, or
orr or force likely y to produce tce'' death; or,
% Administers to or causes to be adminlsIeEed
sstructive or n0xious thing. so as to endanger the
Is guilty OF assault in the first degree.
BY Section 22O it is provided that assault in
the first degree is punishable by imprisonment
for a term not exceeding ten years
Formerly the maximum and minimum punish
ments were prescribed by this section. but that
was changed by the Legislature some years ago.
Assuming, is announced in the telegraphic
reports. that the assassin is only twenty-three
years old, It would be possible within the pro-
visions OF Section 200 of the Penal Code that he
should be sent TO the Elmira Reformatory. That
section provides that:
male between the ages of sixteen and thirty,
convicted of felony. who has not heretofore neen
convicted of crime punishable by lmprlsonneht
trial court be sentenced to imprisonment in the
New-York State Reformatory at Elmira, TO be there
confined under the provisions OF law relating 10
that reformatory.
Should he be sent to the Emra Reformatory
the court could not fix the limit or duration
Of the sentence, under Chapter III OF the
Laws of 1887. but he could not be imprisoned
for period exceeding the maximum term pro-
vided by law for the crime of which he was
convicted
The commutatOn which prisoners may earn
for good conduct is specific in Chapter II OF
the Laws of 1856, which Is still in force Sec
ton l of this act provides:
Every convict confined in any State prison or
penitentiary in this State a conviction OF itI-
Ony a msdemeanor. whether male or female.
where the term or terms equal or equals one year;
or who has term the maximum Of which is hXed
posed by the court or by statute as an alternative
to the payment OF fine. term OF lie Inn
prisonment. may earn FOR himself or herself com
mutation or diminution OF his or her sentence or
sentences as follows. namely. two months for the
months each for the third and fourth years and
hVe months Tor each subsequent year
The rules governing allowance and disallow-
ance of Communication are formulated by the
Superintendent OF Prisons and the warden OF
each prison reports monthly To the Governor the
names of such prisoners as are entitled to be
discharged in the following month by reason of
having earned Communication for good conduct.
The determination as 10 what prisoners
titled 10 be discharged Is made by a board
sisting Of the warden. the principal keeper and
the physician in each prison. In cases where
this board recommends the withholding Of the
communication provided in the they
port their acts TO the Governor. giving their
reasons therefor. The Governor has power TO
Increase or decrease the term OF communication
recommended by the board but he cannot in
crease II beyond he periods prescribed in the
ste tute.
one other provision Of law might possibly fur
ther shorten any sentence imposed on the assas-
SIN. section b3I OF the Penal Code provides that
the judge In sentencing a convict must com
pute the sentence, allowing for the maximum
communication, so that the prisoner will be dis
charged In the month OF April, May. June. July.
August. September or October. This might
from the sentence. depending. of course, upon
the time OF year when he was convicted.