Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-04-21
STATE BOARDS
RULES IGNORED
ATC COUNTY JAIL
Regulations Long in Force
Met by Violation Rather
Than Obedience.
WHAT SECRETARY SAYS

Investigation of the rules laid down
by the state board of charities for the
government of county iails, which Amos
Butler, secretary of the board, says have
been in effect for years, shows that they
are more honored by the violation than
the observation at the Marion county
Jail, even since the expose.
Rule No. 1 requires that every prisoner,
pReenen received, shall be required to batne
and shall be furnished with clean cloth
ing.
clean clothing is not provided at the
Marion county Jail and Sheriff Miller
some time ago asked the county council
for a large appropriation TO buy cloth
ing for prisoners, which the council re-
fused
The rule also requires that the prisoner
shall battle once a week and for this pur-
pose the jailer must provide soap and
towels.
This is not done in the Marion county
Jail
1t is also provided that 1.-The prisoners
old clothes, if good, shall be disinfected'
cleaned and put away. TO be returned 10
him when he released. Otherwise they
shall be destroyed"
This is not done in Marion county.
RULE ON SEPARATION
r
Rule No. . provides that prisoners
who are young, who are self-respecting,
and witnesses, shall be separated from
hardened criminals and low characters.
All women prisoners and boys shall
be under the care of the matron. who
alone shall have keys to their cells"
The Marion county grand jury re-
ported that this fail rule was ignored
in the conduct Of the Marion county
Jail.
Rule No. provides that under no
circumstances. except for purposes OF
cleaning it, shall inmates be permitted
in the iailer's corridor"
It Is reported TO the county commits
sioners that the cells In teh Marion
county jail are in such condition that
the doors can not be closed to prevent
prisoners from entering the corridors.
and an estimate of the cost of repair
ing them recently obtained showed that
Il could be done only at an expense OF
approximately $4,000.
PUNISHMENT RULE
ALSO VIOLATED.
Rule No. provides for the punish
ment OF prisoners who violate the state
board orders. It reading follows:
For. the violation OF any of the fore
Going rules, the sheriff shall, for the
first ofense, restrict the diet Of the Of
fender to bread and water for full
twenty -four hours; for the second Of
fense bread shall be withheld for a Ike
period and in case OF persistent viola
tion Of rules and breaking OF fixtures or
furniture, meddling with the gas or
lights, threatening an officer or tamper-
ing with locks or bars, ii shall be the
duty OF tie sheriff to remove such Of
fender from MS cell to an unfurnished
cell or a dark cell as he may deem
proper. and keep such prisoner without
bed or food until such time as he may
have reason to believe that the privileges
may be safely restored"
II has been disclosed in the federal
court invests cation and in the Marion
county grand jury investigation that
many other forms OF punishment than
those prescribed were used in the Jail
and that punishment was inflicted for
many other things than the violation Of
these rules.
Tt has also been shown that a woman
was punished for refusal to clean the
private apartments OF Sheriff Miller, al
CONTINUED on Page Four.)