Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-03-05
GIRL IN COUNTY
JAIL SENT To
STATE HOSPITAL

Mary hope, the girl who served a
! two months sentence in the county
! Jail on a vagrancy charge and has
! been adjudged insane by the court
and examining physicians, is being
sent at s o'clock this morning to
the state hospital for the insane at
Las Vegas. The girl did not appear
| 10 be insane when she was first sent
to the Jail, but mental delusion
to the effect that she has a great
| deal of money IN the bank has
grown upon her.
| A visit to the girl, who is only 10
! years old, in her quarters in the
county Jail, revealed conditions
which are most deplorable. 1t is a
generally known fact that the Jail
is old and out of date, and that the
accommodations are quite made
quate, but it would come as a shock
| to many citizens of Bernalillo
county were they to visit the place
and look into the women's quar-
! tors.
There is not a bath room in the
Jail, and there are. no decent toilet
facilities whatsoever, no privacy,
so that whatever fineness a girl or
woman had would soon depart or
have to be ignored. Mary Hope ap-
peared to be not bad sort at all,
but she was in a Wretched condi-
ton. her clothes hanging in tat
tiers; her Gress torn, and no extra
garment to wear while she washed
Z KfFh a Oh N hDh mn - n
underwear was purchased for her
by the county officials upon re-
quest, but no legal provision is
made to care for women prisoners
dccently by giving them a uniform
to wear while in Jail, and by clean
ing and, putting aside the clothes in
which they entered to wear upon
their release.
1t Is thought by some of the
county officials that brooding over
her condition, for she was sick
| had perhaps affected the girls san
| ity. She appeared for her court ex-
animation it will be remembered
by readers of Albuquerque papers,
clothed in overalls and boudoir
cap, her stockingless feet in white
kid slippers. she had ordered, hun
| dreds of dollars worth of goods
sent to the JAIL saying that she
could pay for them by check, and
| told a woman who visited her that
she would give her a check for any
amount if she would only do some
shopping for her.
She gave the sheriff an order on
/ ,,fg ;,,p
checks amounting to $1,000, and
said that she was quite able to pay
for a screen around her bed.
In the Women's quarters there
was also a young girl of II, a re-
markably pretty Spanish-Am American
girl, who is serving a ninety-day
sentence. This girl would be one
of those provided for by the w. C. T.
| L. industrial home, were it operating
at present. ana as matters stand in
this community today, she offers
an opportunity TO the Salvation
/ Army and other welfare institutions
to do some rescue work upon her
release from Jail, when place to
stay something to do, and a 14eady
advisor might keep her from re-
turning TO the same elevating place
as the city's guest.
Jail isNa punishment enough"
said Mary Hope, without being
here with nothing to do"
The room, like the rest of the
jail, is clean as far as cleaning can
make it, the bedding whole, as the
women inmates do not seem to
nave been of the destructive type
the recently kalsomined. wall dec
Grated with the pictures drawn by
a girl with artistic tastes to occupy
herself and somewhat blackened
by smoke from the stove. OF
course, it is not intended to be 9
| parlor, as one of the women re-
marked, but like many similar in
stitutions in the country, it turns
the girls out just little bit worse
off than when they went in.