The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-01-23
WOULD GIVE CONV|CTS
MORE CREDIT FOR
THEIR GOOD BEHAVIOR
Governor Stuart. I'm Third Message,
Discusses Features of Treatment
of Men in Penitentiary.
WOULD PROHIBIT LONG
JAIL SENTEN CES
One Man Is Serving a Jail Term of
Ten Years and Several of Five
Years In Certain Virginia Cities,
Governor Says.

Believing ii is best to interfere as
little as possible with the judgment
of trial courts, Governor Stuart recon-
mends, among other things, that the
General Assembly enact such legisla-
ton as will encourage convicts to
shorten the length of their terms by
making more generous allowances FOR
good behavior. This is one of the
features OF the third section Of the
Governors viennial message to the
Legislature, received in both branches
yesterday.
Other subjects taken up by the
Governor include the tidewater fish,
cries. hayward girls. protection of the
uniform of the national militia, COM
pensation for death in public service,
standard weights and measures, and
the forest reserves.
The message is concluded by the
Governor calling attention to the fact
that June, 1919, will mark the ter
centenpial of the beginning OF rep
resentative government in the West
ern Hemisphere and suggesting that
arrangements be made for an appro-
pirate celebration. The final section
of the three-part communication by
Governor Stuart to the assembly is as
follows:
Gentlemen of the General Assem-
bly,:
In this third and final section OF
my biennial message to your honor
able body. / invite your attention TO
the following recommendations:
Prisons and Prisoners.
Naturally, no department of the
State government comes more directly
under the personal observation OF the
Governor than It's penal system. The
executive Office Is besieged at all hours
by applicants for clemency In behalf
of persons convicted OF crime. No
system has ever been devised by which
pardons can be issued uniformly to
those persons only who are most de-
serving of clemency and for whose
reformation there is reasonable hope.
Indeed. there is no chance for such
consummation so long as 1t Ia not
given to one man TO search the hearts
of others. The appeals made for ex-
ecutive clemency are such rs to arouse
the deepest sympathy. particularly Tor
the misfortunes of the innocents at
home who frequently suffer far more
keenIy than the guilty. and 1t is hard
to maintain a balance between the
quality OF mercy and the maintenance
OF Justice.
1t Is given to no one man. who 10
obiiged In the discharge of his official
duty to deal with thousands OF such
cases. to avoid mistakes with certainty.
Official recommendation from officers
OF local courts representing the Com
monwealth vary widely In matters Of
this sort, since there are some such
officers who will under no circum-
stances recommend a pardon. and there
are others who are inclined to sdg-
gest clemency in every case presented
to them.
After two years of varying and ex-
ceedingly illuminating experience in
affairs relating to pardons am OF
opinion that 1t is best to interfere a.
little and as infreauentiy as possible
with the Judgment of the trial courts
and the verdicts of juries. but rather
to encourage the prisoners to shorten
their sentences by good behavior. and
by demonstrating their self-control
and dependableness. i think II would
1e we'll to increase the present good
behavior allowance OF four days In
each month to ten days In each month.
so that tho prisoner may in practice
reduce his term approximately one
third by good behavior. For any tn
fraction of tho prison rules tsuch In
fractions might we'll be defined by law
after consultation with the board OF
directors and superintendent OF the
state Penitentiary) the prisoner should
forfeit all of the good conduct days
allowed him up to that time. Such
statute would unQuestionably make for
better behavior among the prisoners.
Our modern system of using the bulk
of our convicts on the public roads has
necessitated placing d large number
OF long term men on the highways,
who were formerly kept in the peni-
Tertiary, but who can no longer be re-
tanned in the penitentiary on contract
work because OF the provision which
limits the number Of those 30 employed