Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-06-30
z. LEWIS eURNHAM
On Necessity for Prison Reform


THAT the present system of incarcer-
nting convicted prisoners is badly in
need of revision. both for the benefit of the
prisoner himself and for that of society in
general. is the opinion Of Z. Lewis Burn
ham, recording secretary of the Penal he-
form Society of Pennsylvania.
THE general idea" said Mr.. Burnham.
that the person who has offended against
society must have vengeance wrought upon
him. is fundamentally wrong. Mankind Is
working under n code of rules or ethics de-
veloped with the thought Of making it rs
comfortable as possible TO get along with
each other. From time to time, as public
feeling in these matters changes. there have
been notifications and amendments made in
these rules
"Thus. offenders who committed certain
offenses were once severely punished. but
sentiment ms regards the nature or the
seriousness of the misdemeanor changed, 80
that in later years person doing exactly
the same thing was much more leniently
dealt with This constant state of fux
makes it almost impossible to define accu-
rately the status Of various offenses In the
public mind.
Severity Not Deterrent
History has repeatedly proved that
mere severity is by no means deterrent OF
crime. When there was an immense number
Of offenses on the penal code Of England
which were punishable with death. the
severity OF the punishment Qld not leuu 10
any fewer number Of the same crimes being
committed, and this has been shown again
in the recent crime wave in this country.
The Judges have shown an inclination to
stiffen the sentences considerably, but there
has been little il any diminution In the num-
Der Of offenses committed, and what falling
off there may have been Is by no means
traceable to the severity of the sentences
imposed.
ffsp ho lninUu nf 70 mo
turbulent members; and when n person
transgresses the accepted rules, society has
the equal right to take him In hand and to
see that he does not do so again; but 1t has
not the right to wreak vengeance upon him.
''As l have said, society must protect
itself against misdeeds. and for its own pro-
lection and preservation the offender must
be apprehended. But the idea Of measuring
an ofense by an arbitrary standard OF law
and netting out to the offender punishment
which In effect equatcs the offense to a GER
tain number of years in Jail is neither
modern nor scientific.
''For example, consider number of men,
cach of whom has committed the same OF
fense. In spite Of this, the detriment or the
menace which each one is to society is not
nike at all. Yet, all have committed the
same offense and under the law all are
therefore liable to exactly the same punish
ment
Two Broad Divisions
'lDeTe dTe TWO DTOdu ulNlhloHs III tHe
matter. One relates to the disposition OF
person before he has been convicted by the
law and the other as to what shall be done
with him after conviction. The investiga-
tion now being made Of the criminal courts
and the method Of procedure by the Phla-
delphia Bar Association will probably throw
some valuable light upon the first Of these
two matters, and the second one Is the one
with which our organization Is concerning
itself.
| nroperly convicted under the law then 1t Is
| he further duty Of society to study that in
| diyidual and to find out why he ceased to
he a useful member of his community and
| how, If at all, 1t is possible to lead him
| back to that status.
s'It is here that the rigid sentence breaks
| down II all cases are to be treated alike,
and without regard to the specific needs Of
The individual who has thus come into con
net with the law.
| ~ think that there Is considerable hope
IN the studies of modern psychology and
| nsychiatry which are now being made by
some very enlightened men, who are bringing
scientific methods TO bear upon some of the
most, intricate problems Of the so-called
| criminals.
| Gin cases where confinement Is necessary.
| tnere should be some definite classitca tiOn