The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1914-04-03
MIR. F. NEAL PARKE
SUBMITS MINORITY
REPORT
DIFFERS FROM OTHER MEMBERS OF
THE PENAL REFORM COMMISSION
Objects to Some Sections Of Bill Is
tablishing State Board Of Prison Con-
troll, to Bill Creating Advisory
Board Of Parole and to
The Indeterminate
Sentence.

Penal Reform Commission appointed
by Governor Goldsborough, differs
with the other members of the Com
mission and has submitted a minority
report to the Governor explaining the
reasons for his opposition to some
sections of the bill establishing the
State Board of Prison Control, and to
the bill creating an Advisory Board of
Parole. His arguments are given in
his report as follows:
The State Board Of Prison Control.
The objections to the bill providing
for State Board of Prison Control
are the unlimited supervisory lower
given over the various penal and re
formatory institutions Of the State
and the prohibition of Imprisonment
in the city and county iails when the
sentence is for more than six months
in the case Of a man and thirty days
i'm the event that the offender be a wo-
man.
Section 1916 of the bill makes The
State Board of Prison Control the
dominant and controlling board over
all the penal and reformatory insti-
buttons of the State. Its terms are
explicit:
Section 395. The State Board OF
Prison Control shall nave
any and all incidental powers and
authority appropriate and convenient
to enable the said Board to fully dis
charge the powers of management
supervision, visitation and inquisition
conferred upon them by this Act
And the said Board shall have super
visory, visitorial and inQuisitorial
power over all institutions to which
any person may be committed as a
delinquent, whether such institution
be State, County or City institu-
ton, or private institution. receiving
State, County or City aid.
The power Of supervision il a right
to take charge Of, with the authority
to direct or regulate. This wide grant
of authority would make subordinate
to the will and judgment OF the State
Board Of Prison Control the govern
ing bodies OF the City Jail, Of the
House OF Refuge, Of the Female
House Of Refuge, OF the House OF
Good Shepherd, of the House OF
Reformation, Colored Boys, of the
Industrial Home for Colored Girls
and Of the st. Mary's Industrial
School. The result would be con
fiict of authority, clash of judgment
confusion i'll administration, and de-
cline in efficiency.
In the next place. sections 42l and
423 of Of the bill establishing a State
Board of Prison Control require that
where man shall be sentenced fol-
more than six months, and woman
for over thirty days, the place of i'm
prisonment must be the Penitentiary or
House of Correction. The existing
discretion of the court to send the
party to jail Is brought to an end. II
is submitted that the courts should
not be deprived Of the right OF sen
fencing to a city or county Jail for
the following reasons:
l. 1t will crowd the normal Jail
population into the Maryland Pen1ten-
tiary and the Houses Of Correction,
and over-tax the capacity Of these in
situations and interfere with their
proper management.
2. 1t means an increase in the ex-
penses Of the counties and OF Balti-
more City by the payment or the
transportation charges fog prisoners
and sheriffs, and of the fees to the
sheriffs for every prisoner taken.
relief the State obtains through the
efficient administration of the Balti-
more City Jail, and it would, in a
large measure, render useless the
county jails as places OF imprison-
ment
A. A sentence to the Penitentiary
or House of Correction is regarded as
greater disgrace than a Jail term,
fuh hy
way Of reformation with INSIDE
meanants undergoing a brief impris-
onment.
o. Frequently motives of humanity
and effectiveness Of punishment are
best obtained by confinement TO a
Jail, yet this ancient discretion OF
the court is to be denied. Minor Of
tenders of both sexes from Worces-
ter, Wicomico, Allegany and WASH
ington and other counties will be
moved at great cost in fares ana fees
into the State institutions to their
unwholesome overcrowding, and, af-
ter a brief and Improbable incarcer-
alton. will be turned loose, without
money, to find their ways home as
best they may.
The way to avoid these results Is
to let the court determine the place
OF confinement. If the Jail be not fit
for the purpose, the court may be
trusted not to send prisoners to 1t.
Advisory Board Of Parole.
The Commission was agreed that
there was some doubt as to whether
or not the parole power could con-
be conferred upon Board
created by act Of the Legislature" In
this dilemma a majority of the Com
mission determined to submit a bill
creating an Advisory Board of Parole
in the hope that Under this Bill all
of the essential features OF the indie
terminate Sentence system may be
successfully worked out" To quote
again from the majority report of the
Commission: "It is the duty of this
Board, under its appropriate rules, to
examine into the cases OF ali persons
confined in the various Penal 1nsti-
tutions OF the State, and to report to
the Governor upon such cases as may
seem suitable to It for conditional
pardons. and to make such recon-
thereon as to it shall
seem proper. Upon receipt of such
recommendations, the Governor may,
If to him seems meet, exercise his con-
stitutional power to issue conditional
pardons on the terms recommended
by the Board, or on such terms as he
may prescribe"
This statute can neither give nor
deny to the Governor his constitution
al prerogative of granting or with
holding pardons. All that the advo-
Gates OF this act can expect ~ that