Crooks at the Bar of Justice
The day of judgment for New York criminals usually falls on Friday. It not only brings many surprises, but hidden things long forgotten are brought to light. Between the day of a man’s conviction and the day when sentence is passed, the officers of the law have an opportunity to look up his record, and report him in the true light to the judge. When he comes to the bar for sentence, the court has his life mapped out on paper. As soon as the judge begins to question the prisoner, his character for truthfulness is put to the test. Crooks who are as a rule notorious liars have poor memories. No matter how cumulative their guilt is, they are always innocent!
It is interesting to watch the proceedings when some scamp has come up for sentence. A good deal of stage work is done in Court for the effect it has on those present. The female relatives are on hand, weeping like steam engines, while the prisoner at the bar, who has made many promises, is as hard as a stone. Some of the men up for sentence are salesmen, confidential clerks and secretaries, who, when they lose at the races, steal big sums from their employers, and then have their friends “pull social and political wires” to get them out of their troubles; while the poor mechanic or day laborer who steals eight or ten dollars to keep the wolf from the door, has not a friend in the world, and usually gets a “soaking” when he comes to the bar. Perhaps his wife or mother has been to see the judge at his home, where she has created a “scene,” but it has done no good; he has got to go to prison. Not long since, Judge Cowing, one of the best of the General Session judges (now retired), said to a young man who had been before him on two former occasions: “You have been in Elmira and Sing Sing, and here you are again. Where are you going to end up? Your mother came to my house last night. Poor woman, I felt
Hon. JOHN F. McINTYRE.
A noted criminal lawyer
Copyright. I. & M. Stienberg. N. Y.
Justice J. A. Blanchard
Justice J. W. Goff
sorry for her; but you show no feeling whatever. What’s the matter with you? If I should grant the requests of friends for everyone who has a good mother, the people would soon ask me to retire from the bench altogether.” This is true. The judge must send the young prodigal to prison to deter others.
Here is what another judge said of a young man who stole $15,000 from an employer. The firm had only charged him with stealing a much smaller sum, but when they examined their books, they found it a small fortune. It was spent mostly on the races. His wife and three small children were in court, asking for clemency: “I have been on the bench,” said His Honor, “many years, and have had many a sad case, but there is none sadder than the one I am now called upon to dispose of. The great trouble in such cases is that you are compelled to inflict punishment upon people who do not deserve it—I mean the wives and children of men charged with crime.”