The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1912-02-08
MUST STAY IN PRISON
italian Boy Cannot be Released by
Courts Ruling.

s.
The case of Tony vileio, the Italian
boy who Is serving term in the Ana.
mosa reformatory from Mahaska
county, is peculiar one. In the De.
cember term OF court Tony who is
only about 1S years old, and an or.
phan, pleaded guilty to the charge OF
breaking and entering. The evi
dence showed that he was walking
along the country road near White
Oak, and coming to a house he en-.
tered the yard and looked In az the
front door. Seeing o shotgun stand.
inside he walked in and picked up
the gun. As there was no one about
the place Tony walked away with the
gun and went hunting. The property
was later Identified and found In his
possession, and while confined In jail
awaiting trial ne began to learn to
read and write the English language.
When brought before Judge Preston
he pleaded guilty and asked to be
sent to Anamosa, that he might con!
tlnue his studies. No evidence was
introduced to show that Tony had
ever been In trouble before, or that
he had any bad habits whatsoever.
He did not seem to realize that he
had committed a serious offense and
took the whole ordeal in a resigned
and childlike manner. Judge Pres.
ton had no other alternative but to
send him to Anamosa The lightest
sentence he could give him was ten
years. The judge realized this was
excessive and taking advantage of the
indeterminate sentence regulations
he ordered that Tony be sentenced
for ten years, but that he be paroled
at the end of six months.
This week Warden c. c. McClaugh.
ry, of Anamosa, asked for an opin.
ion on the point, which is considered
a most important one, by legal au.
thorities acquainted with the case.
In making his order for release,
Judge Preston relied upon chapter
1874, acts OF the general assembly,
which gives district judges power ia
suspend sentence over first time of,
tenders.
But Attorney General Cosson holds
that no district court Judge can com.
nit a convicted man to prison for a
definite length of time under the Iowa
indeterminate sentence law and fix a
date for the release of the prisoner
on parole.
-' Court Given No Authority. e..
Mr.. Cosson says:
1T is true that the legislature in
the passage Of chapter 1874 has au-
thorized district judges to suspend
the sentence of a person over the age
of 1G and under the age of % years,
il the defendant has not previously
been convicted OF a felony, but the
legislature did not IN said act either
directly or Indirectly authorize the
district court to commit a prisoner
10 the reformatory or the peniten
tiary and at the same time direct the
time said prisoner should be released.
The power TO suspend a sentence
Is quite different than the power Civ
en- 10 the governor and the board Of
parole 10 determine the time a priz.
oner should be released from the ,peni-
Tertiary or reformatory. This may
not be known in advance, but should
be determined largely by. the con.
duct of the prisoner while in confihe.
ment. Indeed, II the order OF the
court should stand, 1t would place in
the hands Of the district judges OF
the state the absolute power 10 multi
ty the indeterminate sentence law IN
so far as il applies to all persons
over the age OF l6 years and under
the age of 25, and az all prison sta.
tlstics show that more persons are
sentenced to prison who are between
IL and Is years OF age than at any
other age. the major part of the au.
thority and duty OF the parole board
would be abrogated.
Does Not Imply Transfer. o..
1T was certainly not the intention
of the general assembly in the pass.
age Of this act, to repeal by implica.
ton the indeterminate sentence law
or to render it nugatory by transfer.
ring the authority vested in the
board of parole to the district judges,
OF the state. ..
Il am, therefore, clearly of the
opinion that that part of the courts
order in which he assumes to con-
fine the prisoner Vilelo for a definite
term and also that part of the order
in which he directs that the prisoner
Vilelo be released at the end Of six
months is null and void and that the
court was wholly without authority
TO make the same. 1t follows from
this that the prisoner Vilelo should
be received and restrained by you in
the same manner as though no such