Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1906-04-11
GRAVES LEGAL STATUS.
The Queer Position of Man Pardoned
for a Capital Offence.


for "a Capital Offence.
The Communication of the sentence of
Calvin Graves from life Imprisonment TO a
term of twenty-five years and his recent
release from the State prison at Thomas
ton, bring up an interesting problem, not
to the lawyer, perhaps, but to the layman,
of Graves legal status since his release.
While he was in Thomaston under life
imprisonment he was TO all intents and
purposes a dead man, the official and legal
definition Of his status being illegally
dead.
Ii is an old and well settled principle Of
law " which has been adopted in practically
every country and state, that man under
sentence OF imprisonment for life or
under sentence of death is 10 all intents
and purposes already dead.
Section 10 Of chapter IS of the revised
statutes Of Maine makes a provision
IN these cases, in which it is
said: ''When any person is under
sentence OF death or Of imprison-
ment for life, and Is confined in pursuance
thereof. he is, from the time Of such i'm
prisonment, to all intents and purposes
eiyilly dead; and his estate shsll be ad-
ministered upon and distributed. and his
contracts and relations to persons and
things, are affected, ia ali respects, as il ne
were dead"
In the case OF a man sentenced to the
death penalty or to life Imprisonment
there can be no doubt shout trs DISPOSE
ton OF his property. From the moment
his term OF imprisonment begins he is no
more in the eyes of the law and admins
tration may be had on his property
Thereafter his time and services belong to
the State, but in Graves case there is an
other question arises in that he Is now a
free man.
Originally, Calvin Graves was sentenced
to life imprisonment and TO all intents
and purposes was civiIly dead, but few
months ago the governor and council
computed his sentence to twenty-five
years imprisonment, which sentence has
expIres, and ne is once more free. When
Graves began his term over nineteen
years ego his civil life was at an end in
the eyes of the law. Years after his SEN
tence was commuted to twenty-five years
in prison as though he had been origi-
nallv sentenced to that term, and he comes
back to life again. elviiis,
The Maine courts have never been called
upon to give an opinion on the legal
status of man sentenced to life imprison-
ment and aiterward pardoned or his sen-
tenee committed TO term OF years, and
therefore there is not settled law In the
matter in Maine. In other states, how
ever, the matter has been passed upon and
the courts have generally construed liber-
ally in favor OF the person.
In simple language a man pardoned or
having his sentence commated to a term
OF years after being sentenced to life inn
prisonment begins his second life TO all
Intent and purposes of the law. While in
prison under sentence OF death or life
Imprisonment mans services belong
to the State. All his civil rights expire
with his actual entrance in serving the
penalty imposed by the court for his
crime.
This being dead and still alive is a com
pick question, but it is stated that in
every case which has come no for decision
before court OF appeals on a matter of
law and the trend of the authorities is
toward g liberal Interpretation OF the
rights OF man SO unfortunate as being
in such a position of having once been
civilly dead.
Hal Graves during his Incarceration,
taken out letters patent on his invention
for which he is now in Washington for
the purpose of having patented, it might
have been decided that his interests in it
reverted to the State, as during that time
he had no civil rights of holding propert y
in the eyes Of the law, but now that he
has served the sentence, his time no longer
belongs to the State, and therefore, so
good lawyers say, he is no doubt entitled
to hold and receive the fruits of his labor.