Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-04-21
County Attorneys at Head of
an Important Movement In
That Direction
WOULD CLASSIFY CRIMINALS
contempIates Making the
Anamosa Penitentiary a Place for
Reforming Criminals, While Fort
Madison Would Be Used for the
Hardened cIass-Meetins in June.

SIOUX City, April zl.-A noNsiiieiie
which contemplates the conversion of
the Anamosa penitentiary into a state
ais and making the Fort Madison pen
;tentiary a state prison for the hard
ened class of criminals is about to be
inaugurated by the Iowa County At
torneys' association.
u. G. Whitney. county attorney of
| Woodbury. county, is a member of a
special committee of this association.
which is to make a report at the com
ing annual meeting of the association.
to be held probably in June in Des
| Moines, with reference to u new law
concerning pardons, paroles n remis-
sions of fines and penalties. Mr.. Whit
| ney is in favor of the classification of
the men who are convicted of crimes
in a way that will keep the person who
is not a criminal at heart from coming
in contract with the natural. hardened
criminal, who has neither instinct nor
ambition to do right.
The special committee mentioned
was appointed at the melting of the as
ISOLATION held last e 1t was named
at the suggestion of Governor Cum
Minis, who came before the county at
torneys especially to ask that they
take some action to secure the enact
ment of a law which would provide Il
better system OF pardons, paroles and
fine remissions for the state than that
in vogue under the present laws. The
county attorneys appointed w. II.
Killpack, of Council Bluffs; w. L.
Smith, of Onawa, and Mr.. Whitney to
take the matter in hand, and after a
thorough investigation to submit rec
concentrations to the 1903 meeting of
the association.
Mr.. Whitney has been gathering data
from various criminal Institutions in
the country and procuring copies of
the pardon and parole laws of other
states. He has just written a letter to
the governor of Indiana for a copy of
the parole law of that state. it being
understood that Indiana maintains two
separate prisons for it's criminals. The
Michigan City prison is maintained for
the long term men, usually hardened
criminals, as we'll as those sentenced
to be hung, while the Jeffersonville
prison, formerly a p~enitentiary for men
of all classes, is nov maintained as a
reformatory only. To the latter prison
the men convicted for shor terms n
for the first time are sent. If their
conduct justifies they are paroled in a
little while, with the unexpired terms
suspended over hem.
From the information I have re-
ceived," Mr.. Whitney said, II believe
that is just the plan we need in this
state. / think it is the best. l believe
men who are not naturally mean can be
contaminated and made hardened Grim
mails by working alongside of the worst
element of humanity in a penitentiary.
This is reasonable; it is common sense.
1t is simply human nature. that's all.
Our Anamosa penitentiary could be
made a state reformatory and the Fort
Madison prison the state ~penitentiary.
l have seen young men from II to 81
years of age down at Anamosa mixed
up with some of the worst physiogno-
mical specimens I ever saw. The
thought forces itself upon o when
you see this condition thai there is
something wrong.
The Iowa laws now make no special
provision for paroling prisoners, all
though it has considered that this pow
er can legally be exercised by the gov
ernor. 1t strikes me that this is a
matter that the governor ought not to
be bothered with. There should be a
board of pardons and paroles to take
charge of this business, the work, how
ever, to be controlled by the governor.
In important cases where executive
.clemency is asked for in the matter
of combinations of sentences or par
Ions the governor ought to still be
left in charge to exercise his discretion.
1t is o thought practicable to lay
down arbitrary or set rules in these
cases. because a case should be gov
erned according to its own circumstan-
ces."
The committee of the county attor-
neys' association will probably have a
meeting some time in the near future.
ccrriah AaEN 90 an crplKE