The Detroit times., 1911-06-09
GRACE PRICE IS
MENTAL DEFECTIVE
REV. w. A. ATKINSON.
REV. w. A. ATKINSON.
Minister Who Acted as Woman's
Parole Agent Explains Her Fail
ure To Reform.

Il am convinced that the woman Is
unsound mentally" said the Rev. VIII
liam A. Atkinson to The Times. Thurs
day afternoon, In discussing the case
OF Mrs. Grace Price Marshall Nc
Carthy. who is being sought by the
police as the person who secured jew
elry from Traub Bros. and the Grain
gerHannan Co.. last Saturday ny
representing that she was the wife
of e. ~. Lowden, a single man. Mr..
Atkinson acted as parole agent in her
case. being appointed when she was
let OF on forgery charge.
II am sure that Grace never would
have done anything of the kind were
she right in her mind.." Mr.. Atkin-
son continued. But am really not
very much surprised TO hear that she
is suspected of defrauding the jewel
ers, for that is just the kind OF work
she would be likely to do. She has
always had mania for nice things.
jewelry and fine clothes. You would
never think there was anything wrong
with her, mentally on being In her
company. however. She lived with US
for some time and we found her per-
fectly sensible on everything, her
only weakness being the inclination
to put on gaudy clothes, regardless
OF their appropriateness for the wealth.
er. She has often gone out of our
place In the winter time in dresses
suitable only for warm weather.
my wife and took Grace into our
home after she was paroled by Judge
Phelan-- Her parole term expired
early last fall and she soon afterwards
left our home and got married to Nc
Carthy. her present husband. After
that we saw but little Of her until
Mccarthy, her husband. was arrested
for breaking into a Woodward-ave,
grocery. last Christmas eve. know OF
McCarthy's weaknesses and pleaded
with the court for his release. Nc
Carthy was drunk when he broke In
to that store and had no crimina+
intent. However, he had been in trou-
BILE before and the police seemed de-
termined to send him up. He has not
yet been sentenced, the court having
remanded him to the county jail,
pending an investigation. Mccarthy
Is a big-hearted Irishman and I am
sure that he would reform IL given a
chance.
"As prophet, however I suppose
the police, especially the detectives
who had the case of Grace, will point
to me as a failure, and triumphantly
say, I told you So Now. really did
think that Grace would reform, for
supposed she was sound of mind
In tn 10
tiles l have noticed in her and what
satisfied that she is suffering from
certain kind or insanity or insanity.
She may be a sort of, paranojac.
While she was under our observation
she was all right morally, and always
had been, but have been told that
she has been seen around tough
neighborhoods of late. Her husband
told me that himself, and he said that
he believed she was insane, because
Of the way she talked and acted when
she called on him In the Jail. have
just learned that she took her two
year-old boy out Of the institution
where she was boarding him, Satur-
day, and left the city. The boy Is the
offspring of her marriage to Marshall,
a Scotchman. They separated because
of Marshall having a wife in Scotland,
according to reports"
Mr.. Atkinson, in commenting on
the case OF Mccarthy, declared that
he thought the plan of sending all
criminals to prison was wrong; that
inebriates should be placed on farm,
as Is done In many states at the pres
ent time, and that certain convicts,
those not desperate at heart, should
also be sent to the farm. In this
way they would be producing some
thing for the state, and Mr.. Atkin-
son argues that the farm life, by
which they would be near to nature,
would not fail to have an uplifting
influence on them. The present sys-
TEN OF so-called reform, he says, Is
nothing but repression and has a ten
dency to make convicts more desper-
ate, rather than to reform them. The
fact that SO many men perpetrate Of
lenses after serving q term Is EVIL
dence that the prison fails to reform,
he declares. His idea Is to treat the
criminal for the disease OF his mind,
rather than punish him for the act
he commits. For this treatment, he
would have corrective institutions,
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