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Show Page 2 Sugar House, Utah Thursday. September 25. 1957 INDEPENDENT SOUTH EAST INDEPENDENT 1123 East 2 1st South Dial IN 32 The South . East Independent is entered as Second Class Matter March i. 194G. in Salt Lake City Post Office under the act of Mar. 3, 1S79. It is published each Thurs-day morning. South East Independent is pub-lished by the News Bulletin.' Inc., and Sugar House Press, Inc. at 1123 E. Twenty-Fir- st South St., Sugar House, Utah. Subscription rates are $3.00 per year by mail. Single copy price is ten cents. Publisher Clair King Editor Emma D. Kin? releasing Murphy which apparently set the stage for a violent j deed against a little girl. I We repeat at this time that Bernt Murphy is still innocent until proven guilty. In his present mental condition, he might be confessing; to crimes he didn't commit. His guilty or innocent status is NOT the question here. The facts to be considered are that Murphy was brutal, injured and attacked inmates and school attendants alike, and was a convicted sex offender turned loose on our un-suspecting society. j Violent language is NOW needed to shout loud enough to wake up; state authorities who nave the power to remove or curtail the non-thinking people who set this stage! Their official action cannot be excused, Mrs. Nichols, because: they had no less than THREE alternative measures at their dis-- j posal: You see, state mental hospitals are under the jurisdiction of the State Welfare Department. Provisions have beem made to trans-- , fer troublesome state mental hospital patients to the State Prison at Point-of-the-Mountai- n. If technicalities prevented this (because Murphy is only 19 years' old) he could still have been transferred to the State Industrial School at Ogden (also a Welfare Commission responsibility) or, in lieu of his past record of sex offense convictions and more recent brutality and display of criminal tendencies at the American Fork School, he could have been transferred to the county jail for detention until other negotiations or dispositions of his case were made. . So you see, Mrs. Nichols, even though your sense of fair play and gentle nature prompted you to write us asking for more thought and less violent language, we must ask your forgiveness, because we have another responsibility the responsibility of being in the position of speaking TO and FOR our readers. We know the tremen-dous power of the pen. For this reason, we try to be absolutely fair in our editorial presentations. But when a person or group of persons jeopordizes the lives and security of innocent people, then we feel we must speak up and use "violent language" in an effort to prevent similar situations in the future. We've thought it over again, Mrs. Nichols, and we still think people responsible for the release of a person in Murphy's condition should be held responsible as an accessory for any crimes he might commit. Be sure and read next week's report on this case, because as a result of our editorial, a lot of people have come forward with an amazing array of information we are in the process of checking out. Next week we may REALLY explode a bombshell! South East Independent Sugar House Dear Sirs: I read your very fine editorial in the Thursday issue of the Independent and want to tell you how much I agree with you. How an institution like fne one at American Fork Training School could do a thing of this kind is beyond me. We, as a state, can spend millions on a park for this is the place and millions on a museum for the Daughters of the Pioneers and let men like this Bernt Murphy go for lack of a place to put thpm is bevnnd romnrphensinn Last week we printed an editorial describing some of the facts surrounding the release of a mentally defective inmate from the American Fork Training School, Bernt Murphy, and stat-ed that we felt those responsible for the release of this convicted sex offender who confessed the murder of Jocelyn Hickenlooper and the brutal attack of a little four and one-half-year-- girl should be held responsible as an accessory to any crimes Murphy might commit. Since that time, our office has been swamped with letters and phone calls: Some readers saying, "You're absolutely right, keep up the fight;" others saying, "You're nuts." You printed that edi-torial to get readership to your dirty paper," and others were just as concerned, but a little more down the middle of the road neither completely congratulating nor condemning. Typical of some of our readers is a letter in this latter category which appears in its entirety: As the crimes which Bernt Murphy stands accused are very serious, the charge which you bring against the officials of the State Training School as "accessory to the crime'' is also very serious. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, when this young man was discharged from the training school, the Sheriff's office in Salt Lake was notified, also the juvenile authorities. Some re-sponsibility would surely be placed on these agencies in your sweeping accusations. The State Training School is for the custodial care of the more handicapped mental defectives, and the schooling of those able to learn, but it does not have the facilities or personnel for handling "incorrigibles." What we need is a little more thought and a little less violent language in approaching such problems. Yours truly, Mrs. E. M. Nichols Salt Lake City OUR ANSWER My Dear Mrs. Nichols: Your letter labels you as an '..intelligent, level-heade- d woman who is as concerned over this matter as we. We agree with you that our charges "accessory to the crime" against certain American Fork Training School officials responsible tor the release of Bernt Murphy Ms also very serious." We are also aware that Salt Lake juvenile authorities and the Sheriff's office was notified of Murphy's release. And, as we stated in last week's editorial, we are also aware that the training school is not equipped with "facilities or personnel to handle incorrigibles." BUT, Mrs. Nichols, we are also aware that the Salt Lake Sheriff's department and juvenile authorities had no legal authority to arrest or detail Murphy as long as he caused no trouble and abided by the law. They, of course, acted immediately when Murphy was labeled a "suspect in the crimes he later confessed. We agree that we need "a little more thought and a little less violent language in approaching such problems." because, Mrs. Nichols, it was a thought-les- s action on the part of school officials I very much agree with you that the officials of the American Fork Institution should be held accountable for the crimes of Bernt Murphy. , ' Yours truly, Charles H. Dowse ' 1877 Harvard Avenue Dear Sir: . I just read a copy of your paper, Thursday, Sept. 19, '57. I like it. I like the tone and temper of your editorial on the Murphy case. We need more people with guts enough to express honest convictions. Because I like your paper, may I offer my services free of charge, at present, till you get well established and better able j to stand a fee. I am a landscape architect and horticulture consultant. I would like to do a column for you if it would be your desire a series of articles an answer to questions column or a combina-- ; tion of both. If you think it will help build your paper, I am for it. This town needs your paper. I am willing to do my part. I have five years of college, a degree and over ten years of experience, and more business than I can handle. I have no "ice" to cut only want to put my shoulder to the wheel. Please feel free to accept my offer.. Respectfully yours, D.E.L. . r Southeast Theatre Now Playing Ends Saturday Glenn Ford Van Heflin "3:10 to Yuma" Tyrone Power Lloyd Nolan "Abandon Ship!" Starts T BIG Sunday J Days YOU LL LOVE I Through every moment of it! M v u A COLOR b CE UIXE 2nd Top Attraction Alan Ladd William Bendix "2 Years Before the Mast" COMING SOON ! - ENORMOUS! SHOCKING J I TRUE : ! 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