Show 1 V Scowls From the Bench f t notice is taken for the second time J J of of c lackadaisical procedure on the part of IP 4 prosecutors Judge J. J W. W McKinney McKinne in inthe the tW Third district court r recently scored their failure re to press appeal cases case to a conclusion in inh h his court Now comes Judge M. M J. J Bronson in the criminal division of the city court rebuking a deputy county attorney for or failure to check the ther r record cord of an offender and to present recommendations recommendations recommendations for sentence Judge Bronson personally studied the record of of the man and found him to be a persistent criminal Records in the sheriffs sheriff's office showed he heji pad d served prison terms for f forgery and robbery robbery robbery rob rob- bery and jail sentences for lesser crimes Judge Bronson ronson remarked that if he had not acquainted himself with the record the felon lelon Gl Glen n Anderson Ander Ander- son 35 would probably have drawn a suspended suspend d sentence As it was he was sent to the county jail for five months for the theft of ofa an automobile heater Both Judge McKinney and Judge Bronson 1 I in f in censuring public prosecutors whose salaries come from tax funds take official cognizance of a condition of torpor and listlessness that has hasi I i evoked outcry from individual citizens and civic organizations repeatedly These scowls from rom the bench are long overdue but it is to be hoped that the lackadaisical public servants will ill pay more atte attention tion to them than they have to the theco co complaints plaints of oJ irked citizens This however may maybe maybe maybe be too much t t. t hope Judge Bronson's research served still another purpose It recalled a record that the bo board rd of pardons may wish had been allowed to gather the dust of forgetfulness Anderson was sent u uin up in December 1921 for forgery forger Five months later he escaped but was recaptured and lodged back lack in the penitentiary in May 1922 Less than seven months later the board of pardons paroled him Since ince then he has been in jails and prisons practically all the time In the event that Anderson turns up again as an applicant for clemency the public will do dowell dowell v. v well ell to keep his record in mind More than once once j r members embers of the pardons board have answered c criticism for showing undue undu leniency by saying n no no one appeared to protest turning a felon loose Strange that this should be viewed by the board as as' asa a public But if it is it is We have haye to face facts as we find them and be governed governed governed gov gov- accordingly Between effortless prosecutions and the difficulty difficulty difficulty dif dif- in keeping criminals behind bars once they have been locked up it behooves ves society to to be vocal lest public servants overlook that it too has some rights to security and nd protection |