The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-03-28
PUBLICITY WAS NOT
SQUARE TO cONv|CTs
WARDEN REED GIVES HIS REAS-
ONS FOR WISHING PAROLES
KEPT DARK.
Cites Many Instances Of Cases Wher<
Il Would Be Unfair to Con-
victs to Publish Names.

Acting Governor M. E. Hay has de.
cided that hereafter he will not give
out any information for publication in
regard to pardons and paroles of CON-
victs, or other acts of executive Glenn
ency, and has issued orders that no
information on this subject be divu!ged
from his Office. Governor Hay has
stated that ne has decided to give up a
practice followed by Gov Mead, at The
request of Warden Charles S. Reed
and also because he had been informed
that it was unlawful for him to give
out such information for publication
warden Reed has requested me not
to give out information relating to par
dons, paroles and other acts of eXecu-
tive clemency toward convicts,' said
said the governor in an interview.
"Mr. Reed told me in his opinion
much harm had Leen done by making
such acts public. He cited cases where
the announcement that convict mad
been liberated circulating over the
state had been a serious disadvantage
to the convict and had prevented him
from getting the start he might other
wise have obtained. This is particU-
larly true of first offenders. In the case
of hardened criminals, second or third
termers, the case is different, but as it
is against the law for me to give out
this kind of information l shall not
do SO in the future
Gov. Hay said that he had not looked
up the law in question but intended to
do so soon and make a statement de
fining his position in the matter.
The provision in the statutes which
refers to the giving out of information
about convicts is found in the section
relating to the treatment of prisoners
and refers t. the officers of the peni-
tertiary. This clause says:
1T shall not be lawful for the Off
GERS of the penitentiary to furnish or
permit to be furnished to any one :cr
publica ton the name of any prisoner
about to be discharged"
Warden Reeds Views.
I speaking yesterday of the ac
ton of Acting Governor Hay, Warden
Reed said:
Yes, it was at my instigation that
the governor has taken the matter up
and / am glad to see the change made
It was of no benefit to anyone to HAY e
the names printed and it was obviously
unfair to the men who were being re-
leased every four months on parole, or
finally discharged. The publishing OF
the names is against the spirit of i'll
determinate sentence law, and l am
glad to see it stopped. My recon-
me ndation extended only as to the ac-
ton of the indeterminate sentence law.
You see, the board may parole a
man, put him out with a chance to-
make good. Well, if he does so, he
makes a number of friends and they
do not know he is an ex-convict. Then
he gets mis- final discharge and every
paper in the state comes out with his
name, as being a convict. He will be
forced, in most cases, to go somewhere
and start again.
Il get letters often from men who
are on parole asking if there is any
way by which their names can be TAX
en- off the published list. They have
made good, nave got a start and are
trying to live right. 1t is not fair to
make them do it all over again.
wherever the indeterminate law has
been tried they have had to cut out
the publicity. In Ohio for instance,
you will find this to be the case. They
tried it there and found that it would
not do to give out the names of the
paroled men.
For these reasons l made the sug-
gestion and l believe that every fair
minded man will see the matter in the
right light and will be glad the prison
ers are to have real chance to make
good after they are released