Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-12-28
RECORDS OF UNJUST
SENTENCES RECALLED
PENOL OGlST GIVES SERIES OF
EXAMPLES
Cites Pathetic Instance of Youth Con-
demned to Long Term, While
Graver Crimes Go Almost
Unwhipped

Colonel Griffith ]. Griffith, whose
work in the interests of prison reform
| is attracting universal attention, is the
recipient of the following letter from
man whose name was once almost a
| household word in the scientific world
of this state, and who has made spec
ial study of penology.
NY first chance for observations on
penology came more than thirty years
ago. | was at Red Bluff waiting to
meet a friend who was on the train
| bound for San Francisco. The train
arrived. 1 soon had my friend by the
hand He had handouts on his wrists
and was guarded by a deputy sheriff
on his way to San Quentin to serve the
maximum sentence, fourteen years, for
hog stealing
NV friend had been four years in my
school in the highest department at
Melville, and speak advisedly when
say he was a perfect gentleman and
model student. 1 knew the circum-
stances of his crime.
His parents were in INDECENT circum-
stances and more or less of invalids,
dependent on his labor for support. He
| had been at work on one of the big
wheat farms in the upper Sacramento
valley, The crop failed and the mer-
chants financing it took crop, teams,
TOOLS everything, leaving nothing to
pay hired help.
| 80, WITHOUT d uOllealg ilC
his blankets and walked forty-five
miles to his home. There he found his
| parents both sick and no meat milk
or butter in the house. He went out
on the acorn pasture and killed a
shoat, carried it home and prepared
food for his parents. keeping the
shoat's ears SO that by the earmarks
he could find the owner.
+, A constable found the owner before
he did, and demanded of him that he
swear out a warrant for the boys ar
rest. This he refused to do, saying,
''the boy will pay for the hog all right
If you'll only just let him alone"
''That will not do. He's committed
crime against the people of the state
of California, and if you take money to
settle it you are compromising felony
which makes you as guilty as he is"
| Compromising a felony what is
that?'
"If a man were to come to your house
and wickedly crippled one of your chill
dren could you take his money and set
| tie it?"
mo; could take the shotgun and
settle it,"
"Then you would be a criminal
| again, but no more so than you are now
| in trying to shield this boy from his
crime of hog stealing"
do you mean to say that the law is
going to step in and rob that boy of
the chance to earn money and pay for
that hog and send him to prison?"
But I'll not tire with more details
| At Yuba City another hog thief was
brought on board. No handouts but a
| Jug of most loquacious whisky and
| under its influence he told me that he
had stolen eighty-three hogs that they
had proved three of them to be stolen
and that for this he had received three
years.
I went to San Francisco and called
on a personal friend an attorney, then
on the supreme bench. He heard my
| story through, then said "rhis is a
particularly sad case of the incongrui-
ties in the penalties in the different
| counties It is a misfortune. But go
to the Judge who imposed the sentence
and think something can be done"
| I went and saw the judge. He heard
my story through and then replied:
81 have no sympathy for this young
hog thief friend of yours, or any other
criminal. 1 am sorry for the circum-
stances but not for the criminal. The
prevention Of stock stealing was fac
| tor in my election and 1t shall be pre-
| vented" He had been sheriff Before
he was judge and had stopped no stock
stealing. / was so undiplomatic as to
| taunt him with this In minute two
angry men were glaring in each others
faces, and high words were passing. |
left without saying good by.
Somewhat incongruous Fourteen
years for a ffty-pound shoat in a case
| of actual want and three years for
three big, fat hogs driven into the
mines and sold. And yet the integrity
| of our courts must be preserved
Black Bart robbed fifty-two stages
and got eight years Old man Myers
robbed one stage and got life.s He
was Immediately captured. gave up his
plumber and pleaded guilty and yet
! was sentenced for life.