Show imprisonment OF 09 THE of et the defects in the present system of criminal jurisprudence is the imprisonment ot of witnesses who are unable to obtain sureties for their appearance peara pe arance uce in court when wanted by the prosecution that it is realty really imprisonment while only called detention cannot be truthfully denied it seems very that persons who happen to be witnesses to a crime and who are la V of participating therein should receive worse ireat treatment a ae they do to la many instances than mhd accused and guilty for while the culprit may go on ball bail the wit witness to co bis big C crime who may be unable to secure sureties is kept to in confinement pending the trial which may not take place tor many weary months thus the innocent are made to suffer while the g guilty at ity for the tle time being at least r beloice ioie in freedom rn rne house of Pe detention ap in new york quite recently was found to contain many unfortunates dep deprived ved of their liberty solely because they were poor and happened to be inthe spot when a crime was committed committe dw 9 A number have spent a sear ear within its Hs walls aels beltie being under bonds which they were i knab unable I 1 e to while the criminals against whom they were required to testify leivat were at large others of course are detained tor for shorter periods but they are imprisoned for oo no offense and are not paid fot for their lofs lobs of time pr or compensated tor for their sufferings tilley are kept in places the windows of ehica are protected by iron bars tbell bedrooms bedr ooma have barred windows and double locked doors doers and they a are guarded and under strict prison discipline fetters ne they are permitted to ta receive letters but can agn open them aply in presence of un 0 officer er who inspects them and it doubty ul about their propriety forwards them to the district attorney they are locked in their bedrooms at 9 p m and must aust come out at 6 a m and are not permitted to return till locking to ta time at siget I 1 no visitors are allowed on sundays nor at any time without it a permit 1 l attean attention on has wen been ached in new york to wo this unjust system by the tee ease easa of georgo george anderson of sherman texas who was shut up in the house 0 of detention for nine mont months lis because tie be witnessed an assault on wards island where he was paying pa ing a visit XO to an old friend the accused persons were eventually acquitted mr anderson was for thirteen years a scout and interpreter in the employ of the united states and was ats associated with general custer so no one has lo 10 accused him of crime he was in ne new W york with some ponies tor for the polo pole club which he be had brought irom from texas when he was unfortunate enough to witness the ass sault and had bad his bis ticket which cost him DO 50 to return home this became useless b bj lapse 91 time he promised to reburl return when wanted but was placed under bo bonds ds aud and kept nine months under lock ck and key because he fie could aoud not furnish them he ae thus described hit hi treatment we were div five e men looked locked in a fro from m 9 inthe evening until 6 in tha morning with no provision for to r ne the men suffered k birj dildin and it is impossible to describe the a foulness of the atmo atmosphere ere and the annoyance end ared by all tiller there was as no water in th the e roomi room an and while there I 1 never saw any 0 61 acy kindt kind N negroes eg ro a were iw iu up in pho same room w will I 1 bihli me and other white men I 1 pret protester against this but it was no use wo got one clean sheet every ulc monday morning the live five men in the thereon roo roon used one towel which ia was i charig changed once a week I 1 used to avoid the towel and use a piece of 0 undergarment between Betwee uthe abe dirty towel and unclean sheets disease dibease was undoubtedly communicated from one inmate to another A man on named connell I 1 think was removed from the house of detention to bellevue hospital suffering from erysipelas A cleanly ras bus sign sian whose name I 1 forget but apparently in rood good health was brought in and put right in the same bud bed lust just vacated by connell A day or two later he was attacked by erysipelas and was also removed to the hospital the doctor I 1 said it was a shame 1 I left the place with the same clothing I 1 had bad when I 1 went in I 1 ased to wash my upper shirt while I 1 wore my undershirt birt and vice versa there is a bathroom bath room tut tat no warm water however cold the weather 29 I 1 wrote twice or three times to t the h e district attorney last winter telling him 1 was without clothing and unacquainted in the city and aking that bom something ething be done dene tor for me so no attention was paid to my lett letters ets I 1 did not wish my relatives to in texas to know my situation until I 1 could explain it in aerson erson as they knew nothing about a house of detention down there and would think I 1 was imprisoned for some crime several eases of peculiar hardship occurred while I 1 was there august myers who had been employed at the german robb of 0 8 by a woman he was kept in the house of detention three months while the woman was out on ball bail christian johnson was robbed of a watch and was imprisoned as a witness for several months while the alleged robber went free no indictment was and johnson was released he had bad 6 in money which was stolen from him by someone some one in the house of detention so se that as a punishment tor for being robbed of his watch he be was imprisoned and robbed of swore 6 more onezean 0 ae can have a newspaper by paying some one to get t it and can have writing magerl als agy ogy by paying tor for them mr branderson anderson w was very summarily discharged and thereupon appealed for compensation which was refused the following f rom a letter by an assistant district attorney dahis principal sets the case forth very clearly nine months ot of imprisonment must amount to a severe punishment to any man angood in good health guiltless of crime and fond of freedom ander sons antecedents I 1 have ascertained are irreproachable his bis record is wit boata stain and it is no fault af his that he hd was arrested and rated as 4 a criminal for no transgress trans tran gres agres sion whatever it Is 1 a matter that cannot be neglected with im impunity unity an dersons der sens treatment in fe the e premises muad not only involve toe reputation of the metropolis but I 1 its a in interest terest sand I 1 if he is t arned away w without com compensation pen I 1 it t can excite no wonder if such niggard I 1 y behavior upon i the patt part of the anthore authorities t lee should seal the lips of every witness in the land whose evidence might hereafter become necessary sar to convict criminals when they do not happen to reside in this city and in the second place his bis right right of action tor for damages tor for his bis imprisonment and detention and enforced services in the interests of df tie the people is by so BO means frek free from doubt and may entail litigation afton that must cost in counsel lees fees alone five times as much as would now BOW satisfy anderson 11 01 course it is very important that witnesses to crime should be secured in order abat the guilty may be pran isnec but in the treatment of suell suc witnesses the adage that it is better that tea guilty men should escape than that one Ja innocent person should he punished seems to be entirely re it is time that tibia this defect in the judicial indicia system of the country olk should ovid be removed where is the leg alre alro fermer forer who can point out ont Is a more excellent layf way |