The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-15
OPPOSED TO FIXED TERN
PRISON MANAGERS IN FAVOR OF IN
DETERMINATEsS SENTENCES.


Printed copies IF the eleventh bienn al
report of the board of managers and
warden Of the MINNESOTA state prison
were distributed la the state house yes
terday. Most of the report was given out
when in the typewriter form, but the
indeterminate Sentence was given no
consideration. that subject having been
handled by the board of corrections and
charities. The complete report gives the
arguments in favor~of an indeterminate
sentence as follows:
1t has been amply demonstrated by ex-
perience, In multitudes of cases, that an
offender committing a. comparatively triy-
ial offense, which would lead to the fix
Ing of a very short maximum term, re-
garding the imprisonment as mere
penalty paid for the offense, is, never
theless, a person of such a character and
so deficient in education, that a very
considerable period of disciplinary train
ing IS absolutely essential to yield any.
practical results in !, the way of perma-
nent reforma tion..' Such an offender by
committing the offense and by conviction
of a crime, has forfeited his liberty f a
the period fixed by general law. Can the
question whether this should be abridged,
possibly be determined beforehand as
efficaciously by a criminal magistrate,
in the hurried dispatch of court bust
ness, as in a board Of managers charged
with the special duty of thoroughly IN
vestigatinS all the circumstances ana
with an opportunity by actual test to
discover the character of the offender?
IT, however, the criminal magistrate
were TO fix the maximum terms, there
can be no doubt that in muititudes of
cases, one of the dominant incentives to
good conduct on the part of the inmates
of an institution would be gone; namely,
the incentive by 9such good conduct to
Oh ss.fj
ceding crime to be, crime, the idea of in
deterlninate sentente rests upon the dem
onstrated truth that, certain classes Of
convicts can, as armatter of fact. be re-
claimed by disciplinary methods. The
utter impossibiiitys of predeterminin.s
what length of time Is required to &C
complish for prisoners the changes of
character to be Wrought out by the edu-
cational and disciplinary training, should
be apparent on the simplest statement
This fact is especially impressive in view
of the large number fi'of prisoners who
plead guilty and who are before the
court for trial and sentence from five to
thirty minutes only.
The committee appointed by the Amer
lean Bar association to investigate the
parole and indetefn1inate sentences of
prisoners, concludes it's report as fol-
lows:
cit is gratifying to learn that the idea
that penal statutes are purely punitive,
is passing away. and that with the
growth Of civilization has come the be-
lief that before the protection of society
against offenders, more is to be gained
by parole and similar acts which lead the
convict to expect speedy liberty and if
he is true to himself, rehabilitation in
society, than by stripes, bonds or soil
tary confinement That hope springs
eternal III the human breast is as true
of the convict as of any other person,
and SO long as hope remains there IS
chance for his reformation"