“They are necessary to the effectual work in the reformatory. They
furnish the lever, with which to maintain discipline.” In the
indeterminate sentence and the parole of the reformatory, the prisoner
will succeed when he finds that he can pass the examinations if he
lives up to the proper requirements. The length of time for a cure is
uncertain, it may be a year or two. Under the indeterminate sentence
they serve longer, than under the determinate! We all know that in
court when his case is heard, the sympathy of the jury is almost always
with the first offender.
A good citizen is not an expense to the State, and the proverb “Once
a criminal always a criminal,” is not true, for they can and are
reformed. Crime is not on the increase, and the reform educational
system is appreciated by the people, while the court only fixes the
penalty. Idleness increases the troubles in our land, and the Gospel
of our Saviour should be the study of the human race. There was a long
discussion on his paper, principally about the heredity cause.
H. E. ALLISON, M. D., STATE HOSPITAL FOR CRIMINAL INSANE, MATTAWAN, N.
Y., FISHKILL-ON-HUDSON,
Spoke of “Preventative Heredity of Crime.” He considered 10 per cent. a
very strong factor. They had received at the Asylum 175 twelve-year-old
boys from the Elmira Reformatory. But this does not agree with Mr.
Torrance, but there might be a larger percentage in a little older
growth.
There has been great progress in the care and treatment of the insane.
Our population now (Sept, 1900,) is 765 in N. Y. State Asylum,
Mattawan; and soon we will need two institutions, for the 1st, 2nd and
3rd term insane must be classified. In a short time we shall have from
1,200 to 1,500, as they are to be taken from all the institutions of
the State that they may have proper treatment as well as reform. The
life men in the New York prisons is 25 per cent. of the prison roll,
and we need two institutions, one for the convict insane, and one for
the insane, charged with crime. We have now over 300 detained after the
expiration of their term.