Waterbury Democrat., 1902-12-13
SUPERIOR COURT WORK Waterbury Unusually Free from the More Serious Offenses.

Jail Incidents in Connec-
 ton With the Opening of
 the Court Friends of
 Prisoners Often Visit
 Them With Some
 I thing to Eat or
 Wear.
 | The records of the superior court show that Waterbury is exceptional from all other cities in the state in that it is unusually free of high crimes and misdemeanors. Neyerthe- less. there have been some rather l very costly cases from this city heard in the local superior court, and as a l general instance the four terms of the court that are held here cost the state good sums. The opening of criminal term Of the superior court is rather an impressive scene. An hour or two be- I fore the hour for opening has come, the county sheriff and his deputies ar rive with the prisoners from the county I jail. These are known as the 'jail gang and they file through the court room to the 7dock in the northwest corner of the room linked together on a long and strong chain. The depu- ties stand guard near the dock keeping an eye on the prisoners and their friends who have come to see them, for no chances are taken with the "jaiI gang" No matter what the sta ton of prisoner in the ..jail gang may have been; no matter how deli cately he may have been reared. There may be costly diamonds glitter ing in his linen or on his fingers, the stern fact that he is a member of that gang of unfortunates, show that he has been deserted by his friends, that he was unable to raise the bond that would give him liberty pending his trial. @ "-
 Visitors to the prisoners bring them clean linen. perhaps food may be a message from sick wife or kiss from q little child. Frequently the prison ers child is there to greet him and to witness the mother lifting the little one over the railing to the rough pale faced man inside is a picture that all ways interests the deputies. It may be knife, or bottle of whiskey, per- haps worse, that is concealed in the child's clothing for the prisoner. There are terrible features and de- vices in criminal life which to the out siders are heartrending, but to the of ficial in brass buttons carrying a far different meaning. No chances are talk enswith the jail gang" .s- >," - | It is 10 o'clock at last and the judge accompanied by a gentleman issues l from door and ascends the bench. i~Ihe moving. restless throng around the dock glidcs noiselessly into the l nearest seats. The sherifr,s gavel com mands silence and the judges voice is heard announcing the Rev MT So- | and-so will offer up prayer" There | ipon all in the court arise. The initi- ated bow their heads, while the first timer or the stranger i'll court looks about him, wondering what is going on. He has not heard the courts re- mark. But he. too. bows his head when he sees the minister on the bene h bent forward in prayer asking for wis | dom from God to guide the judicial mind on the earthly tribunal, and for clemency as He-asked it of His father | for the thief on the cross on Calvary. In few minutes the prayer is over and then the stern duties of the day begin. Perhaps the clergyman re- mains to see the machinery of the trib- unal in operation. If he is a stranger he will for the operations of the su- periof court are very attractive to the student of human nature
 Then the prisoners in the dock are each put to plea. Each one is asked 1T he has lawyer and as he general ly has not, not having funds to fee him, he is provided with counsel by the. court. All the cases are at length | called and each has pleaded not guilty Tor 1t is hardly natural to submit to a term 1n the state prison without a nght. A short recess is taken to allow the accused to confer with their coun- sai, and when the court again resumes the bench perhaps all of the prisoners nave changed their plea on the expec- tation or hope given by their counsel that it is better for them to do so and. 1 they will get a light sentence. Thus IS the great bulk of the business quick " disposed of and the way is cleared for the heavy cases if there is any. l But. as has been said above. there is seldom any case more serious than statutory burglary or assault with in- tentsto murder. It has often han- 1 pened that such case has been well under way when the accused has changed his mind and plead guilty. This is taken into consideration by the court and lighter sentence is always given in such cases
 Lawyers who are appointed to de- fend prisoners are allowed from s to S2o. If the prisoner has plead guilty on the lawyers advice. the fee allowed is S5. If there is a trial. and the. case not very serious one the fee is S1O day and if the trial exceeds a day and is of kind that demands tact on the part of the defense the fee ranges from S10 to $25 day.
 The most costly case ever tried here l was that of an old man named Stone for rape. The scene of the alleged crime was Bethany. Attorney Ken nedy was appointed counsel and the trial went over two or three days re- sulting in the acquittal of the accused. That trial cost the state S75O Another rather costly case was the attempted shooting with intent to murder by Peter Lamoreaux. This occurred on Jewelry street one evening last sum- mer year ago. That case COST the