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Show THE 4 l! llll lllll'llll III II III III 1111111111111111111! II Hill llll II I illllllllllll mini III I ii mi mu I TBihs Published by TUB GOODWINS PUBLISHING COMPANY 420 Ness Building, Salt Lake City, Utah. matter, June 21, 1919, at Entered as second-clas- s the Postoffice at Salt Lake City, Utah, under the Act of March 3, 1879. PRICE: Including postage in the United States, Canada and Mexico, 32.50 per year; $1.50 for six months. Subscriptions to all foreign countries, within the postal Union, 34.50 per year. SALT LAKE CITY, FEBRUARY 23, 1929 SUBSCRIPTION Another Sore Spot legislature lias another problem which, it is hoped, will be successfully terminated. It is the matter of reform in procedure of the state board of pardons. Friends of the bill, and it has many, point to the existing evils of the present system, and wdiile the cure may not be absolute, it is at least a step in the right direction. As at present conducted, the board of pardons does not hear directly the appeal of the prisoner who asks for termination of sentence or parole. He can be represented by counsel providing he has the necessary funds to obtain counsel but aside from that his voice before the board is nil. On the other hand, the board, crowded usually with scores of requests for release, has absolutely no conception, ordinarily, of the cases before it. Handicapped by lack of time, the ordinary session never consumes more than a day, and often the calendar of appeals is run through in less time than that. The net result of this means that unless the applicant has someone interested enough in him to carry the fight before the board, his chance is very often disSispated before the board con- UTAHS venes. Another difficulty to surmount is the position held by the warden of the state prison. This is not an attack on any of the officers, or on the wardens, past or present. It is merely an analysis of the conditions as existing, a matter of organization rather than of personal inability or laxity on the part of the members of the board. The warden makes his recommendations to the board. He does almost so entirely on the facts existing within the walls of the prison. Thus, a hardened criminal, by establishing a record for good behavior while serving sentence, or by courting favor, actually can stand a better opportunity of gaining freedom than a man more entitled to freedom, but who has too much self respect to knuckle down in order to obtain favor that may mitigate in regard to his sentence. A The personnel of the board also may be subject to attack. The governor, the attorney general, the justices of the supreme court and the prison warden constitute the board. Certainly, the attorney general merits his place. The governor should be relieved of his place on the board to answer to the multiplicity of other duties he is called to perform. In many cases, the justices of the supreme court have heard the appeals and judged the men before they were sent up, and the subsequent hearing very often is a repetition of the first. These, then, are the apparent shortcomings of the present conduct of the board of pardons ; CITIZEN (1) Petitioner docs not personally appear to state his case. (2) Board is handicapped by lack of time and meagerness of available facts. (3) The warden too definitely holds the key position on the board. (4) Personnel of the board ig misplaced. Now, the remedies are quite apparent. In the first place, why shouldnt the applicant have the right to appear before the board, state his case, and have a hearing, even though brief, in which he can bring out his side of the question? Under the present system, such a man might be blackballed and his petition denied and he never would know the reason why he was refused parole. The remedies for the second and fourth t gricviences go nearly hand in hand. It is only just that the board have ample time to consider the cases before disposition is made of them. With the attorney general as chairman, a board of pardons of three or five members, we believe, could dispose of the cases in a session of perhaps two or three days every month. And this much time should be given to the disposition of that matter. This board has the absolute power of releasing the men the courts of the state have put behind the bars. As that court acts wisely or unwisely, the society of the state is benefited or harmed. The board must have time to decide wisely on the merits of the cases. Decreasing the wardens power is another move that, in justice both to the state and to the petitioners, appears prudent. His should be purely an advisory capacity, and it must be remembered that his association with the men is confined entirely to the time they spend in the prison, and that even then much of the information brought to him is second hand. There is another side to the story. We are not advocating the release of hardened' or habitual criminals upon the citizens of the state. On the contrary. The reforms suggested in the pardons board are directed towards retention of this class and liberation of the men who are capable and desirious of becoming good citizens again. Therefore, the state should be represented with counsel in the hearings. Its counsel would investigate the record of the men, and when the board would meet under this system, it would have facts available from both sides of the case rather than mere opinions and prejudices, through which a goodly number of the present decisions are made. The Citizen sincerely hopes that the members of the two houses of the present legislature will sense the gravity of this matter. It is indeed one of the outstanding social questions which it has had to meet for many sessions. A change is imminent. And the change is not a political one, but a requirement of a society which demands complete protection for itself and for its institutions. The present board, with the best intentions in the world, and w:ith the most unbiased consideration it can give, by its very nature is bound to make more frequent mistakes than a board organized under different principles would make. It is, therefore, a plea for equal justice for state for society and for the prisoner, that the Citizen takes up the cry for reform of the pardons board. No Surprise shake-u- p The recent in the policV department occasioned no great amount of surprise among those at all acquainted with conditions that have existed within the department for some time, and Chief of Police Joseph . Burbidge is finding little opposition in his efforts to remedy conditions. For a long time the detective bureau has been slipping into a rut. The chief found that records were indifferently kept, and cases were not followed up with that degree of thoroughness and accuracy he desired, and he felt that certain changes would redound to the benefit of ft the department as a whole. The demotion of Riley M. Beckstead as chief of detectives, and Angus J. Mullings as inspector, does not mean that they will leave the department. Both men have rendered good service and both have had long experience in police work, but the chief believes that younger and more energetic men should be placed in these executive positions, and that there should be a reorganization of the detective bureau, a belief in which citizens generally will concur. It is understood that Lieutenant D. H. Claye ton, for many years head of the squad, is slated for Becksteads position, temporarily at least, and that Captain Dan Grundvig who has had military training and who began his service in the department as bicycle policeman, will succeed Mullings. In the latter position Chief Burbidge says he wants an inspector who will inspect; one who will properly check the work of the rank and file, see that duty sergeants and their men do their duty, keep up their personal appearance and equipment to standard. Just who will succeed Grundvig as captain in the event he is advanced to the inspectorship, Chief Burbidge says he does not know at this time, and to say what other changes will be made would be mere speculation. In the event that Detective Lester F. Wire, now under suspension, is dimissed, there will be Other dea vacancy in the detective line-umotions and changes in the bureau are not improbable, according to the chief. Wire is accused of official conduct unbecoming an officer, of violating rules and regulations of the department. It is alleged that he has associated with law breakers other than in the line of duty. Wire has demanded and will be given a hearing before the city commission some time next week. If the charges are not substantiated, he will Shake-u- p so-call- ed anti-vic- p. undoubtedly be Beckstead and Mullings have both indicated their intention to abidfe by the action of tlv chief and will take the rank of detective si gcants. It is understood that Mullings work will be more in the nature of chief clerk. For some time a movement has been under way advocating the establishment of a bureau of records in the department. It is thought that such a bureau would result in a much better system of filing and compiling reports than now obtained. Secretary H. L. Bauer is a strong advocate for the new bureau and has his eye on the prospective job. Wc have been struggling for a long time for and greater efficiency in the better re-instat- ed. ion department, Chief Burbidge said, and I licvc the changes we have in mind will bring about the desired results to a great extent. The demotions of Chief Beckstead and I n s p c c to r Mullings do not reflect on their Both arc advanced in honesty or integrity. , |