A Plea for the Criminal Part 8

Secondly.--Far greater adjustment of treatment to individual cases.

Thirdly.--The stigma of the prison is avoided, and while great care is taken that the prisoner shall be strictly controlled and effectively restrained, his self-respect is carefully developed.

Fourthly.--The family suffers less. The home is not broken up, the wages still come in, and if the prisoner is a mother and a wife, it is, of course, most important that she should retain her position in the home.

Fifthly.--The prisoner does not "lose his job," nor his mechanical skill, if he is a skilled workman. "I was told that six months in prison will materially damage this in many cases." He does not lose his habit of regular work.

Sixthly.--He has one intelligent friend at his side to give him all the help that a brother man can. And this friend has the unique opportunities for studying his case, and has also an extraordinary power over his environment.

Seventhly.--Good conduct and a capacity for rightly using freedom is constantly rewarded by a greater freedom.

Eighthly.--It is far cheaper than prison. The prisoner keeps himself and his family, and one officer can attend from sixty to eighty prisoners.

=The Elmira Reformatory.=--"The New York States Reformatory at Elmira"

is the official designation of this inst.i.tution. It was established in 1875 and had for its first superintendent a Mr Z. R. Brockway.

Mr Brockway had from the age of nineteen years been working in an official capacity among prisoners, and his religious beliefs led him to acknowledge that the men committed to his charge had their place in the redemption of the world.

Maconochie's humane method of dealing with the criminals of Norfolk Island attracted his attention, and from Maconochie's mark system he evolved the now famous indeterminate sentence.

When the New York State established a Reformatory at Elmira, Mr Brockway was placed in charge and given practically a free hand in the adoption of such methods as he deemed most likely to effect the permanent reform of the men committed to imprisonment there. A restriction was placed upon the age of the offenders who should be admitted, the law reading thus:--"A male between the ages of 16 and 30, convicted of felony, who has not heretofore been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment in a State prison, may, in the discretion of the trial court, be sentenced to imprisonment in the New York State Reformatory at Elmira, to be there confined under the provisions of the law relating to that reformatory" (vide section 700 Penal Code).

This by no means implies that all the inmates are first offenders. Many of them have been in juvenile reformatories, penitentiaries, and houses of correction, so that in some cases a considerable advance in the career of crime has been made before they are handed over to the authorities at Elmira. Again, only felons are received, not minor offenders.

The principles upon which the reformatory system is based are practically those set forth in the declaration of the National Prison Congress held in Cincinnati in 1870 as follows:--

1. Punishment is defined to be "suffering inflicted upon the individual for the wrong done by him, with a special view of securing his reformation."

2. "The supreme aim of prison discipline is THE REFORMATION OF CRIMINALS, not the infliction of VINDICTIVE suffering."

3. "The progressive cla.s.sification of prisoners based on character, and worked on some well adjusted mark system, should be established in all prisons above the common gaol."

4. "Since hope is a more potent agent than fear, it should be made an ever present force in the minds of the prisoners, by a well devised and skilfully applied system of rewards for good conduct, industry, attention to learning. Rewards, more than penalties, are essential to every good prison system."

5. "The prisoner's destiny should be placed, measurably, in his own hands; he must be put into circ.u.mstances where he will be able, through his own exertions, to continually better his own conditions. A regulated self-interest must be brought into play and made constantly operative."

6. "Peremptory sentences ought to be replaced by those of indeterminate length. Sentences limited only by a satisfactory proof of reformation should be subst.i.tuted for those measured by mere lapse of time."

The old system of penology may be described as "so much suffering inflicted for so much wrong done and with the object of expiating that wrong."

The principles upon which the reformatory system is founded must be clearly grasped before the system itself can be understood. Criticism is frequently levelled against it on the ground that the prisoners are given "too good a time." This criticism is based upon some theory that vindictive retaliation is the att.i.tude that should be a.s.sumed towards the criminal. When this theory is renounced, then the system stands or falls according as it accomplishes the objects for which it is designed.

When it is asked why should a prisoner in captivity be better looked after than he would be if left in his old haunts of crime, the question must be answered from the prisoner's point of view, and he will candidly reply that the prison which deprives him of his freedom until his reformation has been effected is not the place which has any attractions for him. The life of discipline and industry does not at all agree with his idea of blissful surroundings. Upon admission at the reformatory, the prisoner is placed in the middle of three grades of cla.s.sification.

From this grade he can, by industry and good behaviour, advance to the highest grade. If he should prove refractory, he sinks to the lowest or convict grade. Each grade has its own particular privileges, these being of course at their maximum in the highest grade. They consist chiefly in a better diet, better bed and freer access to the library. His fate is practically placed in his own hands. If he shall show himself industrious and shall apply himself diligently to the task set before him he may make such progress in his grades as will secure his release after a comparatively short period of detention. If, on the other hand, he will not exert himself to embrace the opportunity, he is kept under detention until the maximum limit of his sentence is reached. The authorities urge for legislation making the sentence absolutely indeterminate, so that those who resist the reformatory measures may be kept in prison for a period co-terminous with that of their resistance.

The principles upon which the system is founded are developed in a course of training described as a three M course, i.e. mental, moral and manual. The machinery consists of, the indeterminate sentence, the school of letters, the trade school, and the gymnasium.

=The Indeterminate Sentence.=--The ideal Indeterminate sentence provides that when once a criminal falls into the clutches of the law he shall be deprived of his liberty until he has given satisfactory evidence that he is able to conduct himself as an honest and industrious citizen. It makes no distinction between different crimes, such as to provide that the man who embezzles shall receive a longer sentence than the man who commits arson or vice versa, but makes the restoration of liberty depend entirely upon reformation. It refuses to tolerate the idea that any criminals should be at large to prey upon society, and it thus imposes upon society the obligation to undertake the reform of all criminals.

This IDEAL sentence, however, does not exist. At Elmira, the authorities are obliged to recognise a maximum, so that if at the expiry of this maximum, the prisoner should have made no progress towards reform he must, nevertheless, be discharged. Since, however, a man may at Elmira reduce a sentence of ten years to something like 22 months, a great incentive is given to him to identify himself with the efforts being made on his behalf. From every point of view the indeterminate sentence in the case of those sent to reformatories appears the most reasonable. The business of the trial court is concluded as soon as the question of guilt is determined. The judge has not imposed on him the impossible task of measuring out a punishment which in its severity shall exactly accord with the degree of crime committed. The question of the prisoner's sanity is not left to the jury to decide but to qualified alienists. Neither does this question determine his GUILT but only his RESPONSIBILITY. No account has to be made of the provocation from which the prisoner suffered at the committal of his crime. If but a small degree of criminality exist, the safest adjustment of punishment is to be found in the indeterminate sentence. From the social point of view, it gives the best safeguard to the society. It guarantees that a criminal once convicted shall cease to prey upon society. He will either reform and return to society as a useful member thereof and a contributor to its wealth, or else, refusing to reform, he will never regain his liberty. This sentence lays it down that society ought not to tolerate criminals in its midst. Imprisonment for a fixed period under our present penal system serves but to exasperate the criminal, and at the end of his sentence, when he is a more dangerous criminal than ever, the law demands that he shall be released. It is only by indeterminate sentences that society obtains the guarantee it may justly demand. For its effect as a means of discipline a prisoner will give his own experience. The following extract, was written by an inmate of the Reformatory in 1898:--"From the view-point of a 'man up a tree' I would say that the character of our sentence has everything to do with furnishing a motive which induces and stimulates us to a degree of activity we could never acquire under a fixed penalty. Where, under a definite sentence, we would spend most of our time crossing off days from the calendar and lay awake nights counting over and again the amount of time yet necessary for us to serve before the dawn of freedom, now every moment is utilised in taking advantage of all opportunities for improvement that are offered, well knowing that only by advancement in the trade-school and school of letters, together with strict compliance with the rules of the disciplinary department, can liberty be earned. And the word earn is used advisedly, for a man to get along in this reformatory can be no sluggard but must be alert, ever ready to advance and not drag behind."

The ideal sentence, so far as an incentive to reformation goes, would be an ABSOLUTELY INDETERMINATE ONE, where a man must either reform or remain in prison for life, for where would be the welfare of society considered if a man be released prepared to prey upon it as he did before imprisonment? In the case of the absolutely indeterminate sentence there is a motive that will quicken every energy and arouse the dullest to life and exercise, for he would be fighting for life and liberty--liberty that could never be his until he had shown by his conduct that ready compliance with all requirements here was intended, and willingness to discard the old and detrimental habits, taking on new and profitable ones. The fact that a man could get along in here would indicate his ability to live in accord with society in the outside world.

Under such a system no one fit to be released would fail to gain it.

Why? Because the motive is so strong as to force the most unwilling to willingness; because a man who would rather rot in prison than try to regain his freedom by legitimate means is better off where he is. He would only be a stumbling block to society in general if he were set free, and would sooner or later land again in some penal inst.i.tution or other, and thus his life would be wasted, and public funds wasted in arresting, discharging and rearresting the useless drone, the balance of whose life would be pa.s.sed in various prisons of the country.

That the indeterminate sentence furnishes a powerful motive for reformation is shown daily in this inst.i.tution. You have only to watch the student over his books, or mechanic over his tools to see the effort that is being made to win that golden prize--a parole. How that motive is undermined or taken away entirely when the sentence is definite is readily perceived by taking a cursory glance over the records of men sentenced here for a definite period. The greatest percentage of them are careless, insolent, and furnish most of the cla.s.s that goes to form the nucleus of the lower or convict grades. Why? Because there is nothing to work for. No parole can be gained by attention to duty. Time, and time alone, counts for this cla.s.s. Only to pa.s.s time and get to the end of the sentence, that is all. No one can make a study of, or even look about him and compare the records made by definite and indefinitely sentenced men, without becoming a warm advocate of the indeterminate sentence. The longer the maximum sentence of the man sent here, the greater is his effort to travel along the straight and narrow path, picking up such advantages as offer him through his stay in this inst.i.tution. The longer the maximum the stronger the motive, the smaller the maximum, the smaller effort to earn a release. For example, men sent here with two or two and a half years as the limit of their maximums, on an average, remain here longer than those with a five, ten or twenty years maximum hanging over them. The reason is obvious--the motive is strengthened or weakened according as the sentence is lengthened or shortened. The deterrent value of the absolutely indeterminate sentence would be enormous. Not a question of a few months or years would the criminal have to face; but a period which would not terminate until he either reformed or died. As we have seen it gives a tremendous stimulus to reform, and it would likewise give a powerful check to criminal tendencies. Thus it relieves the Judge of an impossible task, is most satisfactory to society, and most humane to the culprit.

It may be urged that since liberation would depend in a measure upon proficiency in the trade-school and school of letters, that some criminals whose criminality might be of a lesser degree, would be at a greater disadvantage than others. That is not so. The system is obviously a very complicated one, and only the bare outlines are being given here. In operation it is absolutely fair, neither is any inducement offered to commit crime for the benefits which the trade-school confers. The managers know no such defect in their system or otherwise they would report it. They have a free hand in the employment of their methods, they are continually experimenting, and they owe no devotion to "red tape."

A further advantage that the indeterminate sentence has, is that it provides for a second period of probation. A man may behave himself well in prison but upon his release betake himself immediately to his old surroundings and then to his old habits. The most critical moment is when the prisoner steps outside the gaol walls and finds himself a free man. The habits of industry and good conduct acquired when in confinement have to be accommodated to new conditions, and if una.s.sisted the task is often too great. The consequence is that he falls away and rejoins his old companions and soon becomes a recidivist. The indeterminate sentence allows for his freedom being regained gradually.

Having given evidence of reform and of abilities to support himself, employment is found for him, and he is granted a parole. That is he is released conditionally. For the next half year he must report himself every month, and if at the end of that period he has behaved well he is granted absolute discharge. Opportunity is thus given for him to establish himself gradually amidst the conditions of free social life.

The sense of freedom comes without shock, and when it comes, the critical period has long since pa.s.sed away.

Should he violate his parole in any way, he is rearrested and may be called upon to serve the maximum penalty for his crime.

=The School of Letters.=--As has been said the system of the Reformatory is cla.s.sified under the headings of mental, moral and manual. There is no sharp distinction between all three, inasmuch as no mental or manual training is considered of any value which does not also a.s.sist to develop the moral character of the pupil.

The whole aim of the system is to develop minds and bodies, arrested in their growth, in order that they may become more susceptible to moral influences, and that habits of correct thinking and useful industry may be established. Every prisoner upon entering the inst.i.tution is a.s.signed to the school of letters, care being taken that the task imposed upon him is well within his mental grasp, but at the same time shall require an effort on his part in order to master it.

The school is divided into three sections--The Primary, the Intermediate and the Academic or Lecture division. Each section is subdivided into cla.s.ses and each cla.s.s again subdivided into groups. The usual method of making the lower cla.s.ses large and the upper cla.s.ses small is exactly reversed at the Reformatory. There may be as few as twenty pupils in the lower cla.s.ses and as many as two hundred in the upper ones. The school is under the management of a director who is a.s.sisted by a competent staff of civilian teachers, as well as by a number of the inmates themselves. Some of the prisoners, being illiterate, have to commence their education at the very bottom of the ladder. Others, according to the education they have received, enter the course at higher points. In the case of foreigners much of their education consists in teaching them the English language and instructing them in American customs and manners. The training is of immense advantage to them.

The cla.s.ses are held in the evening and the routine of the Reformatory is so arranged that throughout the whole of the prisoner's waking time he is kept employed.

From the elementary instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic, given to illiterates, the course progresses so as to include History, Civics, Political Economy, Ethics, Nature study and Literature. Attached to the school there is a well stocked library from which books are issued under regulations relative to good conduct and progress made.

There is also a weekly paper issued within the inst.i.tution called "The Summary," to which the prisoners may contribute articles. Attendance at the school is in all cases compulsory. The inmate has no option whatever. He is not consulted as to what course of study he would like to pursue but this is chosen for him and he is set to it. In selecting his course, every attention is paid to the man's abilities, tastes and attainments. No useless studies are undertaken. Every study must be of value from a reformative point of view and also from an educational one.

That is, it must serve to correct bad and wandering habits of thinking and to cultivate good and consecutive habits. It must a.s.sist to broaden the outlook of life and to bring the individuals into living touch with the life and traditions of the country to which he belongs. It must serve to inspire hope, confidence and zeal. It must cultivate a taste for the beautiful, a love for the natural, and an adoration for the Divine. When released, the student must find himself equipped with such a knowledge as will enable him to steadily advance in his station of life. And yet there is on an average, only two years in which to impart such an instruction. How is it done? Firstly, nothing useless is taught, the object primarily aimed at being the formation of character.

Attendance is therefore compulsory, and attention and application are necessary in order to obtain a parole. Monthly examinations are held and failures at these gives a set-back in the matter of obtaining a release.

A failure, however, may be overtaken by extra exertion during the next month. However distasteful it may be to the prisoner to study regularly and methodically, or however difficult his former irregular life may have rendered this task, yet it is so intimately bound up with his interests that he soon finds a motive powerful enough to correct mere dis-inclination. He must work and work at his best, and invariably he does so.

Upon entering the cla.s.s room each student receives a printed slip which gives an outline of the lesson to be studied. This serves to convey an idea of the amount of work to be undertaken, to show the progressive steps and to prevent any idle speculation concerning the development of the lesson. These slips are kept by the student and they are made the basis of the monthly examination. These examinations are conducted with great strictness. In order to pa.s.s 75 per cent. of the maximum number of marks must be obtained, and marks are given for exact knowledge only.

For instance, if in a sum in arithmetic a right method is employed but a wrong answer given no marks are rewarded. The student has shown an inability to use his knowledge. In other subjects the men in answering their questions must give the exact "how," or "why," or "when," or "where," or "which" before their work will pa.s.s. They may write sheets but it will not count if they miss the point. They soon find therefore that in order to pa.s.s their examinations they must pour forth all their energies upon their work. Needless to say, no catch questions are ever introduced, neither does the examination task exceed the men's abilities.

When English literature was first introduced the men regarded it as an imposition. They did not know what the new study meant nor what was expected of them. A great amount of coaxing and gentle treatment was necessary to overcome the general bewilderment. The first examination pa.s.sed off measurably well. Soon a change took place and English literature rose rapidly to become the most favourite study. The demand upon the librarian for the supply of English and American Cla.s.sics became so great that special restrictions had to be placed upon their issuance.

Marked success from a Reformatory point of view has attended this study, and the men enthusiastically enter upon a new and broader life.

The late Prof. S. R. Monks, for twelve years Lecturer at the Reformatory, says:--"But does such education contribute to the reformation of the criminal and the protection of the public?"

Unqualifiedly and unhesitating I answer, Yes. Men are found to acquire in this school month by month a growing application of better things, a readier apprehension of truth and a heartier sympathy with virtue, and best of all, a greater capacity for sustained and consistent effort in practical undertakings. These transformations are the successive steps of a real reformation, and every step puts the man at a greater and safer distance from past shiftlessness and viciousness. "The virtues,"

says Felix Adler, "depend in no small degree on the power of serial and complex thinking," but, continues that practical philosopher, "the ordinary studies of the school exercise and develop this faculty of serial and complex thinking. Any sum in multiplication gives a training of this kind." It is hardly possible to exaggerate the benefit that true education will confer on one who has come under the condemnation of the law. His improved education will counter-balance some of the disgrace of his past criminality; it will with industrial training extricate him from the hopeless ma.s.s of ignorant unskilled labour where compet.i.tion is always hottest and most perilous, it will teach him, better than he could know without it, the relative value of things; it will so elevate his thoughts and refine his tastes that the path of duty in its roughest and steepest places, will yet steadily attract his footsteps.

The charge is sometimes made that the criminal is made more dangerous by education. The a.s.sertion begs all it carries. It a.s.sumes that education strengthens character but does not transform character which is false for it does both.... No man can use his mind in the careful investigation of moral principles, and become thereby merely a more dangerous cheat. No man who has opened his eyes to see the revelations of eternal wisdom and goodness written in letters of light on all the handiwork of Nature, can be made thereby merely a more dangerous villain. On the contrary, every hour of honest search after reality, of careful industry governed by principles and lined to accuracy, every hour spent in happy contemplation of wisdom and goodness, wherever manifested will make the man forever the better for it.

=Physical Culture.=--This Department of the Reformatory falls into three divisions--the Gymnastic, the Military and the Manual.

=The Gymnastic.=--The idea of a gymnasium within a gaol must deliver no small shock to the prejudices of many, but in studying the Elmira system we must endeavour to keep before us the end which the authorities are aiming at, viz., the restoration to society of their criminals in a not only harmless state but in their most useful state, and this can only be made possible by the most careful and thorough training of the mind, body and soul.

Neither is there any cause to think that the prisoners are getting too good a time, and that, being treated better than the industrious worker, a premium is being offered to crime. The investigation of the authorities has revealed no case in which a man has entered the inst.i.tution on account of advantages offered. To criminals they are not realised as advantages. They understand them only as the rough road leading to their release, and it is about the last thing for men of shiftless, lazy, inconsequent habits of mind and body, to suppose that they are having a good time when sent to a gymnasium every morning for two hours' steady work. Work which brings all the muscles of the body into play and which demands the fixed attention of the mind and its submission to the word of command from the instructor, is many times more distasteful than the "hard labour" of lazily cracking stones.

Until 1900 the whole prison population went through a regular gymnastic course. This is now changed and a.s.signments are made to the gymnasium only upon the certificate of the physician. All new arrivals however spend a period, averaging about five weeks, in the "awkward squad," half of whose morning time is spent in the gymnasium. They come in a very ungainly looking set of men. Many are undersized, underweight, rickety and diseased in body and generally of a slovenly, unmanly appearance. A mult.i.tude of causes have been at work to produce this condition.

Chiefly, these are a bad ancestry, foul atmosphere of their dwellings, their idle dirty habits, intemperance and s.e.xual abuse.