The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1921-03-25
THE PASQUOTANK CHAIN
GANG UNDER FIRE AGAIN
Tales of Inhuman Treatment of Prisoners Brought
to Judge Allen Who Orders Grand
Jury Investigation.

The Pasquotank chain gang
is again under fire and an in
vestigation of that institution
has been ordered, by Judge Oliv-
er H. Allen in the Superior
Court here this week. The Grand
Jury had begun its investigation
when this newspaper went to
press.
Tales of brutal treatment of prison
ers have come to Judge Allen and he
began to give these tales credence when
three prisoners about to be sentenced
asked him to send them to the State
Prison instead of to the county chain
gang, giving as their reason that pris-
| oners were better treated at the State
Prison.
One of these prisoners, Jim Baker,
dope fend and habitual criminal, told
Judge, Allen that he had seen prisoners
whipped by guards and that on one
occasion he saw. e, Provo, superin-
tendent of the chain gang, put his foot
! in prisoners face while he was sprawl
ing manacled on the ground, leaving the
print. of his boot on the prisoners
face.
Will Brown, Negro who has served
time on the chain gang, told the court
that he had, been bound and whipped
by guards and wanted to show the scars
on his body.
Superintendent Provo denies Bakers
story in toto and declares that no one
had ever complained to him of unreas-
enable Or unnecessary punishment of
prisoners
Geo. ]. Spence, the county trial JUS
tice, told the court that he had hesi-
tated to send prisoners to the chain
gang because he had heard of prisoners
being mistreated there. Judge Spence
says he has been hearing these things.
But there is no record of Judge Spence
ever having lifted a finger to ascertain
the facts or to better the conditions
which he believed to be bad. He never
ordered an Investigation or prosecu,
{ ah-sss Hes never+see much as called the
Intention of the Pasquotank Highway
Commission to- what be claims to have
heard
statements of the convicts. He insists
that convicts are slow to give testimony =
of i'll treatment because of their fear
of the guards and for this very reason
he wants "a full investigation of the
chain gang. Judge Allen is convinced
that something is wrong because with
all of these northeastern North Caro-
lima counties to- draw from, Pasquo-
tank has only nine or ten convicts on
its chain gang. The fact that the coun-
ties are not sending their convicts here
indicates that there is something wrong.
Judge Allen points out that a chain
gang to be most profitable to county
should carry at all times 25 or 80 men
e6d that these men are readily obtained
when a chain gang is properly conduct
ed.
W. J. Woodley, former chairman of
the Pasquotank Highway Commission,
who has just been succeeded by A. B.
Houtz, declares that these late tales of
mistreatment of lconvicts in this county
are all news to him. Members of the
Highway Commission say the same
thing. The Commissioners also make
ieve the present investigation was in
spired by the Mack Sawyer clan for
no other purpose than to embarrass the
Highway Commission. They point out
that Jim Baker whose testimony start
ed the investigation is client of p. G..
Sawyer and that young Sawyer prompt
ed Baker. While resenting the methods
pursued by the Sawyer clan the Highway
Commission courts the fullest investiga-
ton and if things are not going right
with the convicts, the Commissioners
will make them go right.
One of the three guards who has fig
ured extensively in complaints against
the chain gang is Mooney Pike, de-
scribed as ''a big Russian" One man
testifes that he picked up a cudgel at
the convict camp and asked what it
was used for.
eve use it to beat up these damned
niggers," one of the guards is said to
have replied.
If such conditions prevail in the Pas
quotank County convict camp, they
should be aired and cleaned up. But
it is not likely that a cleaning up would
effect more than temporary better
ment. Convict guards are just convict
guards and there usually is little hu-
man consideration in tfe makeup of
their breed.
The result of the pending investiga-
ton must be reserved for another issue
of this newspaper.
This is the second time the Pasquo-
tank chain gang has been under fire.
It was the subject of sensational in
vestigation by Judge Frank Carter sew
eral years ago, at which time the Mack
Sawyer gang was in the saddle. 1t was
found at that time that convicts were
tied to trees and whipped upon their
bare backs until they bled like slaugh-
tered hogs. It was found that the men
were chained to their hunks at night
and were not permitted to leave their
ounks for any purpose. Twice a week
they were given liberal doses of violent
purgatiVes and, chained to their hunks
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