The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1916-07-27
EMPTY CELLS
AT THE Pen
RESULT OF
DRY STATE
lPENITENTIARY BEING EMPTiED
= OF coNvIcTs UNDER THE DRY
REGIME. FEWER PAROLES
BROKEN NOW THAN FORMER
lY.

Warden lyman of the penitentiary
says that if the present prohibition
law is permitted to remain on the
statute books of the state for the next
five years and is properly enforced
the number of prisoners in the Colo
rado state penitentiary will be re-
duced to a minimum of something
like four hundred. The number of
convicts on the prison rolls at noon
today was 778, but the registration is
beng gradually reduced under the
operation of the prohibition law as
more men are going out than coming
in.
Twelve months ago there were ap-
proximately 800 convicts in the peni-
Tertiary here. From May first to July
18th of last year, when saloons ex-
listed in Colorado, the state peniten-
tiary received 1877 prisoners. From
May first to July fifteenth of this
year, under statewide prohibition, A
convicts were received at the prison;
less than one-third the enrolment
for the corresponding period twelve
months ago. "And that" said War
den lyman few days ago. "is the
story of prohibition in Colorado in
nutshell"
But there are other facts discerni-
BILE from the records of the state peni-
tentiary that shows the workings of
the prohibition law. And here are
some of them:
During the first six months of
1915 there were twenty-three prison
ers who violated their paroles. Dur
ing the first six months of this year,
since the saloons were closed, only
eight prisoners have violated their
paroles.
In July last year, thirty-three pris-
oners were received at the peniten-
tiary. Up to the fifteenth of July
this year only one prisoner had been
received-a proportion of thirty-three
to one.
And. further, in spite of the fact
that the receipts of prisoners have
very nearly stopped. the men already
in the institution are being discharg-
ed in approximately the same num-
bers as last year. During May. June
and the first half of July last year,
10S prisoners were discharged or
paroled. During the same period this
year. 106 prisoners have left the in
stitution.
AZ tho Tafa -
Warden lyman, the penitentiary pop
ulation will soon be reduced one-haIf
of what 1t was before the prohibition
law was enacted. It is not an over
statement to say that only COM
paratively small part of the buildings
at the institution will be in use as
a prison in the course of the next few
years.
Persons who try to belittle the show
ing. made by prohibition in the reduc-
tion of crime by explaining the mark
ed falling off in the receipt of prison
era SO far this month as due to the
fact thet in the summer few courts
are in session, and, therefore, few
prisoners are sentenced to the peni-
Tertiary, need only be reminded that
the same condition held true last
July, when thirty-three prisoners
were taken to the penitentiary. The
courts were just as much closed last
July as they are this July.
Warden lyman also says that under
prohibition Colorado is fast losing it's
undesirable population. He refers to
those person known as habitual GRIM
inals. This class is leaving the state
as fast as its members are released
from serving their penitentiary SEN
tences. Virtually no hobitual GRIMM
ais are entering the penitentiary these
days. Formerly these persons came
back time after time and each time
were detained until they had served
their maximum sentence.
Warden lyman says a number of
these habitual criminals now are in
the Wyoming penitentiary. having left
dry" Colorado and taken up their
abode in wet Wyoming.
The reduction in the number of
prisoners at the penitentiary has al
ready begun to make itself felt in the
number of men available for highway
work at the prison road making
camps OF the state and will become
more acute as time goes on If the
present condition of affairs continues.
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