Show REMOVE REl THE MENACE l i I One of the t ious factors in our crime situation is is j i that of the relentless repeating criminal The newspapers are full of accounts of assaults robberies and murders by thugs who have long records behind them of other crimes dimes imes' imes These men are turned loose time and again to tobe tobe tobe be given another chance Usually they use th the th new chance to further their criminal careers It is is reasonable to believe that a man Inan convicted once of a crime may when released or pardoned sincerely reform It i is s entirely unreasonable however to believe that a hardened hardened hardened hard hard- life has been testimonial to the ened wrong doer whose whole a strength of his criminal instincts will win be willing to change his ways t tIn I In New York under the Laws vs which give life imprisonment imprisonment imprisonment im im- im- im automatically on the fourth conviction for a felony crime is is decreasing Other localities where similar laws are in ini i effect find the result th the same We Ve cannot compromise with crime It is an unfortunate fa fact ct that all reform movements based on purely moral grounds have failed because of the criminals criminal's own own morality Sensible u undeviating laws that have no part with misguided misguided misguided mis mis- guided sentiment rigidly enforced will deter more criminals in a moment than all the pistol anti-pistol laws ever proposed could do doin doin doin in a year We have failed in the past because we have pampered the criminal and compromised with crime There can be no hope of success in the future unless we change our course of action and put the repeating criminal where he can do no harm Pardon Boards should either be curtailed in their powe powers s or entirely s abolished I 1 s |