Evening star., 1926-09-13
Life Sentence Meant Only ID
Years in New York Un-
til Recently.
Judge Scores Evasion of Jury
Service by So-CaIIed
''Go0d Citizens"
Article vi.
BY LOUIS SEIBOID.

y
citizen than to the convicted criminal.
Until the recent passage by the
Legislature of an act now in effect, a
life sentence" actually meant a little
more than IA years. In the future a
life sentence" will mean a life sem
tence.
The new law abolishes the practice
of granting a prisoner convicted OF
manslaughter reductions of three
months out of every year for good
conduct and obedience to prison rules.
The new laws are also going to fall
heavily OH felons convicted of crimes
other than the taking Of life by in
crcasing definite sentences by from l6
to 60 per cent. This is done to make
the way of the transgressor harder
than it has been in the past.
At the same time some measure of
the present benefits Of indeterminate
sentences are to be preserved to the
convicted criminal.
Twenty.five-Year Crime Record.
The 25-year criminal history of John
SaWey. alias Sawyer, alias Burke.
alias Thompson. alias Miller. etc, is
an example Of what judges sentence
may mean in actual practice. Sawey
was first arrested in 1901 in Passaic
for forgery.
In 1909 he served year in the New
York County penitentiary. In 1910 he
was arrested in Pittsburgh for picking
pockets and received an hour to leave
the city. The same year he jumped
bail in Boston on a larceny charge. In
1911 a larceny sentence of year In
Baltimore failed to hold him, for less
than a year later he was arrested in
Dover, y. j.
LIT 1n
New JerseN reformatory, from which
ne was paroled. In 1916 he appeared
in a Passaic court again for forgery.
This time he forged President Wilson's
name. In the same year Sawey was
arrested in New Jersey for imperson-
ating an officer. Two years later he
was sentenced to serve one to three
years in New Jersey for a false pre-
tense charge.
Eleven months later he was arrested
in Columbus, Ohio, for forgery. Seven
years was his lot this time. but even
that did not hold him. for by 1922 he
was back on the job in Texas and re-
ceived 1O-year. sentence. This time
he escaped and is now passing checks
in Mississippi.
Parole System Acute Issue.
y
criminal operations all the way from
impersonating a policeman to imper-
sonating the President Of the United
States on q check Sawey served only
about five years in prison, although
he was sentenced to at least % years
on his various convictions.
The merits and demerits of the
parole system have been the subject
Of acute controversy for many years.
The theory upon which It was based
was that men who had fallen by the
wayside should receive an oppor-
tunity to rehabilitate themselves and
become useful members Of society.
the parole system was certainly not
intended to make 1t easier for the
habitual or vicious aggressor to re-
sumo his quest for 'easy money" Oh
tanned either by the gun or less
violent methods.
That there have been many abuses
Of the parole system is admitted, due
to politics to a very large extent. but
more generally to the lack Of team
work and understanding among the
courts, the executive pardoning power
and the parole board.
Coordination Is Lacking.
The Izzy Presser case was a recent
example of the lack of coordination
between the prison department. the
executive and the board. Presser was
a notorious gunman and bootlegger.
He was due to be released from Sing
Sing after serving a fixed or determi'
nate sentence for burglary. There
was against him. however. charge
of having escaped from Great Mea
dows prison.
He told a cock -and-bull story about
being k;dnaped against his will. He
negotiated surrender directly with
Superinteudent of Prisons Long after
serving a sentence in New Jersey for
crimes committed subsequent to his
'kidnaping.'
Gov. Smith ordered an investigation
of the Presser case. That investiga-
tion has been held without clearing
up a great many of the mysterious
features which still challenge intelli-
cent ANALYSIS. Just why this all
round professional criminal was per,
mitted to drop out of sight so easily
Is VET to be explained. Mr.. Alger. the
commissioner designated by Gov.
smith. may clear up the situation
when he makes his final report.
Should Probe Politics of Case.
The members of the parole boaru
contended they had no right to hold
Pressed any longer than his definite
term. In this position they were sup
ported by superintendent of Prisons
Long. The superintendent assumed
personal responsibility for the failure
of his department to insist upon Pres
ser paying the penalty for escaping
from Great Meadow.
To what extent politics played a
mart in the Presser case is yet TO pe
disclosed. In the opinion of grea'
many persons the case should receive
the most thorough scrutiny
The Presser case is used as an eH
annie of the working of the parole
system. The following table pro
vides a comprehensive picture of the
narole system as it functioned up to
- o,n nt r,anf of the new LAWS.