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Show T r cst ts rh,'of ' J u dg e'K o r - Phl!adlphla.wh would chango the prosant mathod of diapanalng Justice to tha ertmtnsi awaiting aanteneo n V t 6 & " " ' 0 A i Board of , r Fix Criminal Experts-t- o Sentences -- yhieh Protect Society ByCharles G.Reinhaidt TTERX are two men who represent problems to society. In each case a prompt aolutlon is demanded. The first is the bead of a poverty-strickfamily. - A welfare organic ' tlon must determine whether or not to award him relief consisting of a few dollar a week. To aid In tta decision. It can and does call upon the Investigation and Judgment of trained, social workers, physicians and psychologists. The second I a convicted offender against the criminal laws. A Judge must decide whether or not to sentence him to prison and, if sentence la pronounced, , how large a segment should thus ho cut out of his life. Tet the Judga has little or no information regarding the mans psychological, sociological or medical background essential to a vise decision, and lew facilities for obtaining lb He does not know whether a prison sentence wlB reform or irretrievably wreck the offenders character. He does not know the motivations which tamed the man to crime. Yet alone, and without much of the aid that modem scl--. enoa can afford, ha must reach a conclusion significant to both the man and and Rehabilitate the Offender dif-fer- en f) -- .Advocated by n Jurist -- - ,, ct Vf f -- tsfJ W, - first step forward is a realiza- tlon of the fact that the decision as to what make an Intelligent and socially constructive sentence for crime 1 n more than a Job. It require at kart the combined knowledge and experience which any agency can call to tta aid. "I have frequently urged a revision of T -- -- affects of past and future environment. et criminal-la- w procedure'Which would provide that the sentence of a convicted offender, or, as I would rather state tb his future relations to society, should be determined by A board, of expert In. fender-shoul- d be subjected, such aboard etead of by an Individual Judge. On" would study the 'prisoner periodically that board would sti: from all angles and would release him "A physician capable of determining only when ta fact It would appear that td what extent the convicted prisoners paroling him would be for the best characteristic Contributed to terests of society and of the offender his delinquency and what therapeutic himself. methods, , if any, would As far as the deterrent purpose of r sentence remedy. Is concerned, this could be' a A psychiatrist capable of performing accomplished by the Judge pronouncing -- the same service In relation to hi me- n- a minimum sentence sufficient ta his" tal characteristics. "A trained social worker to study the ' r . S would be a mistake for the State of New York to set up a board properly constituted of psychia-'trist- s, alienists, lawyer and students and let them make the final disposition of that man ta the best interest of the State end the best Interest of the man himself, and thereafter the control and deposition would remain with that body with the power to recommend parole or transfer probably to a State institution or the far the care of the A clearing house, after .Insane. conviction and before sentence, ought to be provided where these men could be muter close observation for the period lhatial psychiatrist suggests as necessary" to make some diagnosis of his case so ae - After to determine H the factor. sentence a good many things are found out about a man that the Judge does sot bare in mlnl when he is sentenc. . ing him. There are no two criminals alike. There arc no two crimes exactly alike. There is a "different set of facts and circumstances that lead up to them aU. A great many of them are accidental, and if you can have a board to study thl tiling, spend money on it. It 1 worth while spending But, Continued Judge Stern, the layman" mar say: This appears to be" an Involved method of solving what seems, after all, to be a very simple N problem.' snswerlsthat tbs probiem if.by no means simple. The elements are extremely Involved. The question of what constitutes the proper handling of .a criminal offense would puzzle anybody. I have proved this by an actual experiment conducted several times over a period of yearj- - Let me describe it. The experiment is, at the conclusion of an address mi the criminal law and on some phase of penology, to picture' to the audience the ease of a defendant who cues Stood before me for sentene-- " T DO not think it feeble-mind- one-ma- aoebd-serrt- , "termlne guilt or Innocence without any-h'ng in their minds except did he commit this crime or did be nob and ak soon as the verdict is rendered and he is found guilty, be ought to be turned over to the State of New York for such disposition a would be determined by men a beard of the highest-salarithat we probably have In our.com munlty. ed - MTTTHE the great need for more scientific methods in that branch of court procedure which deals with the sentencing of convicted offenders. Every one knows the great discrepancies In sentences meted out to criminals by different Judges, or even by the same Judge W at different times. Judge Stem sees definite Indications that some desired reforms will soon be achieved. In a measure passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature this year and signed by the Governor, Judge Stern a definite entering wedge, recognize promising the aid of psychiatry and social study In the sentencing and rehabilitation ofcrtminals. The bill provide for the deferring of sentences in certain cases pending men- -ta! examination of the offender by qual- - . ified psychiatrists. After that first step has been com pitted. Judge Stem beLeves, the establishment of institutions wherein the , mental defective maj be treated end . the social misfit may be recast for citizenship win follow. Story Is society. TTNDER - such conditions, declare President Judge Horace Stern, of Common Pleas Court No. 3, Philadelphia, the efficiency of the current workings of our penological system la greatly Impaired. He believes that a Judge, whose decision may concern even life and death, should have not merely the earn facilities for obtaining essential information that tiie social service agency enjoys, but responsible from trained psychiatrists, physicians and - men of affairs. What,"-aske- d Judge Stern, la the fundamental purpose of a sentence? Is It simply an expression of the vengeance of aociety for an offense committed against tha public? Is It aimed at a deterrent to others? Is it to protect society by Imposing restraint on tha offender? Is it an effort to straighten out his twisted Ufa and to train him for constructive citiaenship? In my opinion, several of these element are frequently involved. - Sentence must sometimes be Imposed for Its effect as a deterrent, sometimes as a .remedial action calculated to restore and reclaim the individual, sometimes for both these purposes In the one case. The deterrent element has as it object the good of society; the remedial eie-- jnent the good of the offender. These two important functions often run counter to one another and therefore make the problem extremely difficult Well-Know- Is opinion o warn other potential lawbreakers, and then the remedial efiact would be achieved through the boards decision as to how long the sentence should actually run and under what conditions it should be served. Since the board would keep the prisoner under observation during hi entire period of Incarceration, It could study his prognw toward reformation and determine the length - of hi confinement accordingly, subject to the minimum sentence im-- posed by the Judge. JH URGING this reform Judge Stem. -- K rXSnXge. eoctologfatJAnd111 in methods of sentencing, in an address before the Crime Commission of New York several years ago, former Governor Alfred E. Smith had thk to i say: T believe that the power of Sentence ought to be taken away, 'from Judges entirely, and I further believe that fixed and definite sentences should be dependent upon the finding of a mission.- The jury ought to de- -- tag. His offense had been the embezzlement of a Urge slim of money from a bank In which he had been employed a short time before. Between the time of the peculation and the trial relatives had made restitution in full and the man himself had married, -- was truly penitent and reformed, and was achieving both social and business success. Neither the bank nor the District Attorney nor any one else asked for punishment. Ask then, would members of the audience do ta tills case if they sat on the bench? Sentence the erstwhile embezzler to prison, thereby ruining his career, breaking up his family and benefiting no one concerned in the case? , Or permit him to walk out a free man, thereby hold mg that theft can be the , committed without penalty If, only offender becomes sorry, and especially if be ha wealthy relatives 'who, by mak- restitution for him, help to deaden the clamor for prosecution? Hearers are asked to Indicate their opinions. The results are interesting. ' "Regardless of educational, social or other backgrounds, the gudiences vote about SO per cent for the prifon term end about 50 percent for freedom. The proportion never varies greatly. There is not only no unanimity of opinion, but the opinion Is always . equally divided. The fact that in one such typical case thousands of average persona are so evenly divided on the decision Illustrates how difficult Is the administration of the criminal law. GrpRAINED And experienced jurist of the vary in their opinion proper penalties for crime as markedly audience as do lecture-ha- ll wag once a new Judge who reserved decision in a case ta the criminal court. He sought the advice of an older and Jurist of long experi-- much-respect- ence. ' Wbyrthatr quite iimpl exptalned bis adviser. 'The offense la one of the common derelictions of youth and not likely to be repeated. Put him on probation. Then he put the question to another veteran of the bench also Justly esteemed as an able and conscientious Judge. The answer was equally firm and decisive. 1 "A serious offense, be was told. You sen-- " "should Impose at least a two-ye- ar ' -The 'essential fence. v -- significance h i .s' of this TACK of many of our D difficulties, Judge Stern added, lie the fact that lawyers and Judges are likely to look askance on attempts at scientific These scicriminology and penology. ences, so Important In our modern civilization, appear to remain the' exclusive Unfortu-ta- g province of the sociologist. nately. the lawyers, s a general rule. regard practice ta the criminal courts as one of tha lower branches of tha profession. Some of those who do practice there too often are engaged in employing the tricks of the trade rather than Impressed with the social responsibilities of their Of course, this criticism does calling. not, by any means, apply to all. for w have some of the ablest and finest law-abyens at the bar who practice largely la , . the criminal court, "One project of which I am very fond is tlft of establishing a course ta criminology as a compulsory part of training. This win have a bene- ficial effect on the attitude of lawyers attracted to practice in the criminal courts and would mak them more socially minded in their work. Moreover, since Judges come from the ranks of the j Jbar7 it would mean that they, too, would profit from such studies,' and would be - able to handle the complex problem presented to them with full appreciation of modem scientific knowledge. In shorfe-temir administration at the criminal law would, I think, be lm- v law-sch- he proved." ' j, nla, frrtn which be was graduated and where for many years he lectured to the students ' |
