“The average judge is a man of keen perception, and if he has been long on the bench, he has acquired in his experience an accurate conception of the criminal mind, and an idea of how it may be most effectively influenced.
“Doubtless if one of the judges of the Superior Court passed a few days at any one of the penal or corrective institutions of the State, he could see things that had escaped the notice of those who have grown familiar with conditions, either by association or by brief visits. Some very valuable suggestions for improvement might result.
“We have many investigators who are concerned with the boy and man in confinement. The Board of Parole, a new commission, was created for the purpose of securing to the deserving a conditional release from prison.
“The Executive Council, when passing on the question of pardon, goes carefully into the prisoner’s past, the circumstances of the crime for which he was sentenced, his conduct in prison, and then weighs the chances of his becoming a law-abiding and industrious member of the community if liberated. Few men so released have again offended.
“It is logical that if the body authorized to grant a pardon is so zealous in the interest of the prisoner and the community alike, the judicial authority who fixes the penalty and indicates the institution of punishment in specific instances should be equally well informed of the possible consequences of the sentence to the prisoner. The administration of strict justice might be aided by a more intimate acquaintance with the character of our jails on the part of the judges.”
THE INDETERMINATE SENTENCE AND PAROLE LAW IN INDIANA
Amos W. Butler, Secretary Board of State Charities
For the crimes of treason and of murder in the first degree, the sentence in this State is either death or life imprisonment. For persons convicted of felony for the third time (habitual criminals) and those found guilty of murder in the second degree or of rape upon a child under ten years of age, the punishment is life imprisonment. All other persons convicted of felony are subject to the provisions of the indeterminate sentence and parole law of 1897 and its amendments. This law applies to men over 16 years of age and women over 17. While it is called “indeterminate,” it is in reality limited by the minimum and maximum terms prescribed by statute for specified crimes.