The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-02-06
WHIPPING OF CONvICTS
WILL BE DISCUSSED
GOVERNOR AND PRISON COM
MISSION URGED TO REscIND
PILE PERMITTING 1T.

NATURALIZATION of whip
:.o in the convict camps and the
p .ato prison farm will be taken under
federation by the governor and the
orison commission at conference,
pi,b;Ch probably will be held this week.
Wow Governor Hardwick, it is said, has
,,;rtnallv made up his mind that the
SSnnrst;tItion of Georgia forbids the
'C5 J,;T1i of convicts. The constitution
"mr ~r;d that neither whipping nor
PPaUn;shment from the state shall be
;1n,nosed upon any person as a punish
r n,ant for crime. The whipping Of a
intr or a prisoner at the state farm
i an incidental part of the sentence
;,,oosed upon him as punishment for
Inn nrr,e the governor is inclined to be-
fave and, therefore, in his opinion,
con1es within the meaning of the con-
ct;4rtion. Attorney General Napier
bas Given an opinion which he says
tb r Whipping of convicts for violating
tbs rules governing them is not pro-
hibited by law.
Doubt ACCESSIBILITY.
Members of the prison commission
entertain serious doubts of the advis-
ob;Iitv of abolishing the lash. They
Relieve it should be used sparingly
and under strict supervision of the
conntv warden or the state prison
farm warden, and that physician
should be present. But they do not
believe it will be possible to enforce
discipline among convicts on the pub
lie roads if the strap is done away
with entirely.
other forms of punishment, such as
solitary confinement, bread and water
diet restriction of prison privileges,
etc A convict in a road working
gang cannot be given these forms OF
punishment. There are no facilities III
the convict camps of Georgia, even
the largest and best equipped, for sol
itarv confinement. There are no tacill-
Ties for other forms of punishment
used in state prisons very effectively.
Convicts necessarily must have the
freedom of their arms and legs when
they work on the roads. II their tree
dom of movement is restricted they
cannot do the work. Many of the con-
yicts wearing stripes on the public
roads are life term men, OF known des-
nerate character, who are held in sub
lection by the fear of the lash, and
who must be kept under constant and
strict surveillance to prevent them
from attacking guards.
Very Little Whipping.
On account of these conditions, pc
culiar to the system of working con-
yicts on the roads, and not existent
in other states where convicts serve
their sentences in central prison, the
members of the prison commission Sc
riously doubt if the convict wardens
and guards would be able to enforce
discipline without the strap.
OF course the commissioners do not
favor the indiscriminate use OF the
lash. They discourage it, and have
strict rules governing wardens in ad-
ministering punishment. The fact IS,
there is surprisingly little whipping in
the convict camps of the state. In many
counties not a single convict is whIpp-
ed in months and in many others the
number runs from one or two to a
half dozen.
Court Should Settle 1t.
The commissioners not only dis
courage the use of the lash, but If the
constitution forbids it they will stop 1t
absolutely in every camp in the state.
But they contend that the question
should be settled by test case in the
courts, where a final settlement could
be had, instead of being left to the
opinion of each governor who comes
into office. Where one governor, as
in the present case, considers the lash
unconstitutional another might not. so
construe the language of the constitu-
ton and might approve the use of the
lash, they contend.