The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-02-17


William and Ann Streets Kew York.
Butler, Samuel Shaw, John Cameron,
Josiah Wright and Eihu Luce. Israel
Smith was then Governor, having
been elected over Isaac Ticheno-.
who sought a reelection The most
important recommendation he made
in his message to the Legislature
was the substitution of solitary i'm
,prisonment for corporal punishment.
and the result was the appointment
Of this commission. The next year
Tichenor was again elected Governor,
defeating Smith, and tough the lat
ter was a man of the highest stand
ing and no suggestion Of corruption
attaches to his conduC. it has been
stated that the principal reason fo-
his defeat was that he was influential
in having Windsor selected as the
site for the State Prison There had
been struggles between different To-
calities, as there has been in the loca-
ton of every public institution, and
those who were defeated felt sore.
The Old Penal Laws.
The substitution of Imprisonment
for corporal punishment marks
great theoretical advance. The appli-
cation of the beech seal was the COM
mon form of punishment previous to
ho nj Drt he
penal laws of 1879 seem harsh to-
day. 1t was enacted that as a penal
ty for adulter yboth the man and wo-
man should be severely punished by
whipping on the naked body not ex-
ceeding thirty-nine stripes, burnt on
the forehead with a letter A with a
hot iron and wear letter A of con-
spicuous color on the back of the out
er garment during their residence in
the State. For every time they were
seen without this letter they might be
convicted and punished by the in
Fiction of not less than ten stripes
Polygamy was punished in the same
way Theft required a threefold re-
storation and might also be punished
by whipping, and if the offender was
unable to pay he might be bound out
to service till the amount was work
ed out. Drunkenness, lying and pro-
fame cursing were punishable by fIA
and lying in the stocks. Blasphemy
was punishable with death, as was
counterfeiting. Horse stealing and
some other crimes were punishable
by branding and cutting off the ears.
With the institution of the State
Prison there was change in the laws,
and it is notable that up to 1924, that
is for the first fifteen years after the
State government was instituted,
there were only four executions. The
first of these was that of Cyrus B.
Dean at Burlington, November IL,
Black Snake, engaged in smuggling
on Lake Champlain, and was charged
with the murder of Jonathan Orms-
bee and Asa Marsh members of
>,
on the Winooski river. The second
was that of Samuel e. Godfrey, con-
victed of killing NJ. Hewlett, warden
in the State Prison. The case of God
frey is really pathetic. He was con-
victed of some minor offense at Bur-
lington soon after the close of the
War of 1912 and had nearly served
his sentence in the State Prison. That
institution in those days was manag-
ed on principles of the greatest severi-
ty. Observing that he was to be
complained of and probably subject
ed to punishment. Godfrey one morn
ing turned on his keeper, named Rog-
ers, with a knife and a club. Mr..
! Hewlett, the warden, seeing the affray,
and was stabbed in the side, dying
from the wound about six weeks lat
er. 1t could not be positively proven
that Godfrey stabbed him, but no one
had any doubt of it. Godfrey was
placed in solitary confinement and no
attention was paid to the wounds he
received in the ARRAY. He was in
dicted Immediately on the death of
the warden, was tried at the next term
of court, and though ably defended
by two lawyers who volunteered as
counsel, was convicted. His wife pc
toned the Governor and secured a
reprieve and new trial was granted,
Continued on page three.l