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Show A PRISON EXPERIMENT. Massachusetts Will Try to Prevent Sontel Her Convicts From Becoming Hardened. An experiment in the treatment ol convicts ia about to be inaugurated in the state prison of Massachusetts, at Charlestown, which may, as expected, be of much praotioal benefit in behalf of prison reform. It is something like a return to the system of solitary confinement, confine-ment, although in this case the ptisonei will be allowed to decide for himself if he desires that mode of life during the period of his incarceration. A convict doing this will see no one but his keeper, keep-er, but will be given plenty of exercise and good, wholesome food, provided with work and be kept in a comfortable cell. The evil after effects of che present gregarious method of keeping convicts will, it is believed, be prevented by the new system. Many men who depart from the path of propriety and are made to suffer for it legally go to prison with a determination to reform and to lead good lives when their sentences expire, bat they are thrown constantly into the companionship of hardened criminals, who will not fail to insist upon a continuance con-tinuance of the prison acquaintances!! after they get out There are numerous instances on record rec-ord where a man who has been released from prison and endeavors to lead a respectable re-spectable life is forced back into crime by those who were companion convicts with him and who adopt a system of blackmail and threats to compel him to enter into relations with them. The Massachusetts mode will allow well disposed dis-posed prisoners to separate themselves from the other convicts and let them leave their calls when freed, undismayed undismay-ed by the feur of meeting criminals who know they also wore the stripes and will take finiillar advantage of theit kuov? ledge Washington Star. |
