Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-23
FIND OLD PAROLE
SYSTEM WIPED
/ OUT BY NEW LAW
Indeterminate Sentence and
TwO-Thirds Law Nullified,
Says AttOrney-General.
FIEL DER SAYS HE SIGNED
BILL WITHOUT LOOKING
Some Say There's Plot to Free
kuehnIe in New
Method.
TFrom u star Correspondent

lRBN IONs N. D., April 23.-ln inc
opinion of Attorney General Edmund
Wilson, chapter $50 of the laws of 1913
creating a new board of parole for in
mates of the New Jersey State prison,
g who have served one-third of their
! sentences, nullifies the indeterminate
sentence law of 1911 and the two
thirds parole law of 1912.
This startling fact was brought out
yesterday at the meeting of the board
of prison inspectors, when Walter M.
Dear. . member Of the board, received
an opinion from Attorney General
Wilson to that effect.
Behind the new law allowing prison
ers to be released after serving one
third of a sentence is believed to be a
carefully prepared plan to allow Com
modore Louis Kuehnle, of Atlantic
City, to evade serving a full one-year's
sentence, imposed upon him in Allan
tic City for being interested in a con-
tract awarded to a company in which
he was a director, while a member of
the Board of Water Commissioners.
Commodore Kuehnle was sentenced
to serve one year in the State prison
and his conviction has since been
ny Niit supreme COuEl II1
has, however, appealed his case to the
Court of Errors and Appeals and a
decision there against him is looked
for
Attorney General Wilson, in his
opinion to the State Board of Prison
Inspectors respecting the status of the
indeterminate sentence law and the
two-thirds law, said in part:
Wipes Out Parole Board.
"In my opinion the act of 1913,
which constitutes a new parole hoard,
operates to repeal the parole board
(the board of prison inspectors), re-
ferred to in the acts of 1911 and 1912,
to which have referred. Ac-
oordingly, | advise you that the pro-
visions for parole contained in the act
of 1911 and 1912 are now imperative
by reason of the provisions contained
in chapter $50 of the laws of 1913,
which took effect Immediately, to wit,
April a. 1913. The rules and regula-
lions to be adopted by the new board
under the last-hamed act (act of 1879
must receive my approval before they
can become operative"
The law of 1913. the one third SEN
ate by senator Wheaton, of Cape May,
March Y. and constitutes the new pa
role board as follows: 1.-THE principal
keeper, the resident physician and the
moral instructor appointed by the
Cove nor shall constitute a board of
parole which shall establish rules and
regulations for it's procedure. subject
to The approval of the attorney-gen-
eral of the State of New Jersey"
The specific section in the new
parole law which 1t is said Will benefit
Commodore Kuehnle in case his con-
viction is affirmed by the Court of
Errors and Appeals. and which also
prescribes the requirements for parole
under the new board reads:
Every prisoner who has been. or
may hereafter be, convicted of any
offense against the State of New Jer-
sey. and is confined in execution of
the Judgment of such conviction in
the New Jersey State prison for a
definite term or terms of over one
year, or for the term of his natural
life. whose record of conduct shows
that he has observed the rules of such
institution, and who, if sentenced
{ for a definite term, has served one
third of the total of such term or
terms for which he was sentenced,
( or, if sentenced for the term of his
natural life, has served not less than
E fifteen years, may be released on
sparole as herein provided
Following the receipt of the opinion
: by the Board of Prison inspectors
they visited Attorney General Wilson
at the State House. The inspectors
urged upon the attorney general
their contention that the one-third
sentence law of 1913 applied only to
prisoners having a fixed term and
that the 1918 law would not affect
prisoners sentenced under the indie
terminate sentence law of 1911 with
minimum and maximum sentence
The attorney general maintained
that the indeterminate sentence act
sof 1911 is one of a fixed term and
that, therefore, the Board of Prison
INSPECTORS have not the right any
longer to operate under the provi-
sions of the indeterminate or two
thirds law.
The effect of this ruling by the at
torney-general will have a sweeping
effect upon the release of prisoners
of the State prison In the future
The result, according to the Board of
Prison Inspectors, viii be that where
a prisoner is sentenced to a minimum
of one year, under the 1918 act the
new parole board can recommend his
parole after having served only four
nnonths' Imprisonment, or one-thlrd
sof his sentence. The Governor will.
however have the power of approving
or rejecting such paroles, as at pres
emit
The Board of Prison Inspectors at
ats meeting yesterday, respecting the
views of the attorney general that
they were no longer the legal body
10 grant paroles, took no action on
thirty-nine cases that would have
been acted upon then under the two
birds law and the indeterminate
sentence law. OF these seventeen
Eases were before the board under the
3ndeterminte law and twenty-five I'M
der the provisions of the two-thirds
law. The board stated that twenty
Two cases would come up at the May
itneeting and seventeen at the June
meeting, but these will now be
turned down.
Governor Fielder was later com
municated with by the inspectors.
The executive, according to the in
spectors, said in the rush of dispos-
ing of bills left with him by the
Legislature, he failed to comprehend