xt776h4crq12 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt776h4crq12/data/mets.xml Kentucky 1963 newsletters English Eddyville, Ky.: Kentucky State Penitentiary This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Physical rights are retained by the owning repository. Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Please go to https://exploreuk.uky.edu for more information. Castle on the Cumberland Kentucky State Penitentiary -- Periodicals Journalism, Prison -- Kentucky Castle on the Cumberland, September 1963 text Kentucky State Penitentiary v.: ill. 28 cm. Call Numbers HV8301 .C37 and 17-C817 20:C279 Castle on the Cumberland, September 1963 1963 1963 2021 true xt776h4crq12 section xt776h4crq12
0-.” qwl ‘. ‘ .
;
i
i
.
i
I
s.
‘
v
.
‘
E
z
\
F
Y
2-=-==
r;-_ -n
7—:1 '5‘
“'— 7;:
’
;—
”4 , , 5?
,———-,, . A ,‘,_u_,.:___ ,.
(—fi -M >
#4 - ‘ , vrem————.». ,-_ ‘ ~- .
v fi"‘“'\': ant-1?": ' an ‘W:
\- £5.ng ~ =1. ’
‘ ‘ x “A , .
Volume III, Nunber III September 16, 196
CASTLE=ON THE CUMBERLAND
ADMINISTRATION TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Honorable Bert T. Combs, Governor Deputy Warden's Page 1
'Wilson'wo wyatt, Lt. Governor Castle News 2
Marshall Swain, Correctiors Commissioner Editorial 7
Dre Harold Black, Director of Institutions THE 9-GRAND CON 10
W. Zo Carter, Director of Education DESERT BRED 15
Exchange Page 19
BOARfliflF'PARBONS & PAROLES
Tall Tales 20
DTo Fred Moffatt, Executive Director Department Reports 21
Walter Ferguson, Chairman Nightkeeper's Report 1886 23
Simeon Willis, Member Statistics & Movies 2h
Ernest Thompson, Member The Castle laughs 2h
Crossword Inside Back Cover
PENITENTIARY ADMINISTRATION
lather Thomas, warden
Lloyd Armstrong, Deputy Warden
CASTLE STAFF
We T. Baxter, Captain of the Guard
Lawrence Sznow, Editor
Reverend Houston Es Inman, Chaplain
Harold Arnold, Associate Editor
Henry E0 Cowan, Supervisor of Education James F. McKinney, Art Editor
William Egbert, Vocational Instructor John Busby, Multilith Operator
The Castle on the Cumberland is published on the 15th of each month by the ins»
mates of the Kentucky State Penitentiary at Eddyvilleo Subscriptions, one
dollar a year. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect
those of the administration. Permission to reproduce any part of this magazine
is granted, provided credit is given to author and source.
nepuw WARDEN'S PAGE
-~ By Deputy Warden Lloyd Armstrong
Recently I was asked how the penitenti-
ary of today compares with the peniten-
tiary as I knew it when I first came to
work here in May; 19h6. To me there is
very little comparison. There has been,
in this period of times a complete
changewover, not only in this prison but
in many others which I have visited and
been associated witho We believe that
most of these changes have been for the
betterment of the inmate and institution
mm such as a more balanced diet for the
inmatess better housing conditions, and
an educational programs Still more imw
provements are underway at this time,
the most important being a new educa-
tional building which will accelerate
our athletic and educational programs
tremendouslyo
We now have approximately EhOO acres of
farm land9 compared with h80 in 19h6.
Our beef cattle have risen in number
from a mere 100 head in l9h6 to about
500 heado We have six times the number
of hogs that we had in ”héo we have a
dairy herds which didn9t exist in lghéo
to furnish plenty of milk. for the inn
mates. we can now offer a high school
education to those who qualify, typing
classess and some onmthemjob training
courseso Our Ethegrade educational prom
gram is not only available” but compul-
sory to all those under 26 who are not
this far advanced in their education.
We have a modern laundry to compare with
an old wooden tub in “héo we have
factories in which the inmates make
their own clothes, as well as clothes
for various other state-owned institu-
tions. These were non-existent in l9b6.
The inmates" clothing has improved enor~
mously during this periods Medical care
for the inmates has improved almost
100%o In my opinion, the Kentucky penal
institutions have moved ahead With great
strides in the past 16 to 18 years; how-
ever, there is an ever-increasing need
for further advancement, which We hope
1
i
x
to obtain by constant improvements along
these lines.
By 19h8, it became evident that the
penal authorities were sitting up and
taking a greater interest in the welfare
of the inmate, and trying to do some~
thing about his rehabilitation while he
is serving his sentencea rather than
letting him sit for years looking at a
stone wall until his discharge dateé
then going back to society an embittered
man, none the better for all his wasted
years. This program is being almost
unanimously adopted by most prison
officials. we have received many il=
literates who upon their release have
carried out an 8th grade diplomas Now
it is possible for the ones who wish to
put forth the effort to carry out a high
school diploma. we realize that it is
almost impossible to help everyone along
these lines, but to the ones who wish to
help themselves we offer these Oppor-
tunitieso we believe that with the
proper training and consultation the at:
titudes of many will changes thus making
them better citizens once they have
again joined Societyo
When I arrived at this institution in
19h69 the inmates received meat only on
Sunday, and only one out of nine were
'workingo Today, each inmate receives
the proper amount of meat each day
recommended by the state dieticiano
Only 261 inmates are idles and of these
80 are attending elementary schools
Some, of course, are unable to work due
to physical handicaps, others are segre-
gated from the rest of the inmates,
which means that most of the able—bodied
inmates are working in and around the
institution.
In 19h6, the starting wage for a correc-
tional officer was $125 a month. Today
the starting wage is $266 a month, more
than deuble. At that time the correc-
tional officer got a day off every 9th
day. Today he ate off one day each
Continued on Page 18)
l
THE PAROLEuREFORM BILL: WHAT DOES IT SAY, WHOM WILL IT AFFECT?
Will the new reform bill help or harm
the average inmate? What will be the
criteria determining when men will meet
the parole board? Who will be eligible
for parole? ‘What will count most in the
consideration of the case of the indivi-
dual prisoner? These are only a few of
the questions KSP inmates have been
speculating about since Senate Bill
N00 1 was passed in Special session last
Juneo 'With these questions in mind, the
CASTLE has made a careful study of the
bill and presents here a summary of its
provisionso
Briefly, Senate Bill 1 does 3 things:
lo It provides for the creation of a
"Commission on Correction and Community
Service“ to make a continuing study of
Kentucky's adult penal institutions and
programs and make appropriate recomr
mendations to the Governoro
20 It provides for a 5-man parole board
to consist originally of the three in?
cunbent members, who shall serve at
least until the expiration of their
present terms, and of two new members,
appointed for hwyear terms by the Govern
more The Governor is to select the new
members (and fill vacancies on the board
thereafter) from a list of qualified
applicants prepared by the new Commis»
83.0110
50 It removes arbitrary restrictions on
parole eligibility, repeals appropriate
statutes, clarifies the status of cer»
tain prisoners serving more than one
term, and provides for the adoption of
parole regulations consistent with "pram
vailing ideas of corrections and rem
form: n
THE COMMISSION ON CORRECTIONS, as alr-
ready stated in the CASTLE, will consist
of 11 unpaid memberso Four of these
will be ex-officio members: the Commisw
sioner of Corrections (Marshall Swain is
presently Acting Commissioner), the
Director of Institutions (Dre Black),
the Director of Probation and Parole
0N. Po Hurley) and the Chairman of the
2
Board of Pardons and Paroles (walter
Ferguson)o
The other 7 members of the Commission
must include two circuit judges, a psyb
chiatrist, a professional educator, an
attorney, and a representative each from
business and laboro All but the axe
officio members will be appointed by the
Governor.
THE DUTIES OF THE (DMMISSION include
study of Kentucky°s adult penal institue
tions and programs, the preparation of a
list of qualified applicants to fill va~
cancies on the parole board, and advis=
ing the Governor on the need for new
institutions, facilities, programs, re»
search, and liason between the Departn
ment and community agencies to promote
the rehabilitation of prisoners and
paroleeso The bill provides authority
for the Commission or any of its members
to visit and inspect institutions and
institutional records.
THE PAROLE BOARD is charged With the
adoption of rules and regulations con»
cerning the parole eligibility of in»
dividual prisoners, with considering all
pertinent information concerning the
prisoner, and having him appear before
one or more members of the board for a
personal hearing. The bill states that
the board shall release prisoners under
parole supervision when it believes they
are "able and willing to fulfill the
obligations of a laWwabiding citizen.”
To help the board detennine ‘when the
prisoner has reached such a state, the
DIVISION OF INSTITUTIONS and the DIV]:
SEON OF PROBATION AND PAROLE are charged
with gathering and reporting on all perm
tinent information regarding the prisons
er's criminal record, the results of
physical and mental examinations, his
conduct, employment and attitude in
prison, and the circumstances of his
offense and previous social historyo
This information is to be gathered as
soon as practicable after the commitment
of the prisoner.
flD CLARIFY THE STATUS of prisoners serv-
ing more than one term, the bill pro-
vides that a second sentence imposed for
a crime committed before the rprisoner
was committed shall run concurrently
with the first if:
(1? The sentence is designated to be
served concurrently.
(2) The commitment is silent.
WHO ‘WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR PARDIE? The
language of the bill seems to ‘indicate
that all prisoners except those con-
demned to death and those serving a
sentence of life without privilege of
parole will be eligible for parole con-
sideration at any time, subject to will-
ingness and ability to "fulfill the
obligations of a law-abiding citizen."
PARKER HURLEY IS NEW PAROLE CHIEF
Governor Bert T. Combs announced last
month that he had appointed the super-
visor of Louisville”s probation and
parole office to replace James Mo'Wells
as Director of the Commonwealth's Proba~
tion and Parole Division. wells re-
signed suddenly last montho
W0 Parker Hurley, 50, Spent 20 years in
the pharmaceutical manufacturing in»
dustry before going to work with the
Probation and Parole Division 10 years
agoe For two years he worked as a
Louisville probation officer, becoming
head of the combined Louisvillew
Jefferson County division when the city
and county groups merged in 3.955.
Hurley, who was featured some time ago
in a LOUISVILLE TIMES "People You Should
Know" story, resides with his wife and
children in Louisvilleo
’ 9E3 ADDICT WED JUMPED INTO A FALL
Mansoura, Egypt 'UPI) a- In order to
escape police searching for narcotics,
Mohamed Zaki Abdullah leapt from a 5rdw
Story windows He landed on a police van
and broke his leg.
SENATOR NICHOLS AMONG RECENT SPEAKERS
"mr. Clerk; take the roll." These
wmrds, Spoken by the Speaker of Kenw
tucky's House of Representatives, used
to herald a tedious, timeuconsuming prom
cedure of calling file roll of 100 repree
sentatives to determine each manVs vote
on a given bill. Since bills are up for
vote many times each day the Legislature
is in session, a good part of the
limited time available each year for the
lawmaking process was consumed in merely
registering votes.
But, said the Honorable Fred Nichols,
speaking to an innate assembly here last
month, an IBM machine that tallies the
total vote for and against each bill, as
well as the way each representative
voted, has solved that problemo
The machine, said the youthful State
Senator from Madisonville, shows results
on a "scoreboard" on which each member“s
name is listed. A green light beside
each name signifies a yevaote, a red
light indicates a no-vote, and no light
at all means that the legislator either
was not present or abstained from
voting. The total vote is also given at
the top of the scoreboards, and individ»
ual members register their vote by
moving or not moving a toggle switch on
their deskso
During his brief talk, the Béwyearmold
Senator explained other facets of the
lawmaking process as it operates in
Kentuckyo He invited the inmates to
drop into the galleries at Frankfort
when they are free to see for thenselves
how government is operatedo
Senator Nichols, a graduate of the Uni-
versity of Kentucky, served as Repre—
sentative prior to his present term in
the Upper Ho useo
The United States has more than twice
the land area (3,615,000 square miles)
of all the nations of Europeo
Bo We PORTER IS DAYTIME YARD LIEUTENANT
FATHER GLAHN 10 REPLACE FATHER MCATEE
With the assignment of former Yard
lieutenant William 0. Long to the posi-
tion of Utility Lieutenantg Burnette‘Wo
Porters 659 became daybshift 'yard
lieutenant last montho
its Porter» married and the father of
five grown children, makes his home in
Hopkinsvilleg Kentuckyo A former farmer
and heavymequipment operators he also
served two terms as Trigg County Reprew
sentative under the administration of
Governor Keen Johnsono He is a member
of the Hopkinsville Methodist Churchg
and has served as a Sunday school super—
intendent for some 30 yearso During the
h years he has been employed at the
prisons he served on the midnight shifts
Sergeant ‘William Herndons who trans-
ferred from the night shift more than a
year ages will remain in his position as
secondwinmcommand on the yard under
Lto Portero
LENS EYE BANK STILL NEEDS PLEDGES
Raymond McNabb last month pledged his
eyes to the Lions Eye Bankg increasing
the total number of KSP inmates who have
willed their eyes to the service club to
near 600 But the bank still needs eyes”
and pledges are always appreciatedo
The eyess which are not removed until
after the donor diesa are given without
charge by the Lions Club to restore the
sight of blind men‘9 women and childreno
The removal of the eyes makes no differw
ence in the appearance of the bodyg and
there is absolutely no charge to the
donor or his familyo Anyoneg regardless
of ages races or the condition of his
eyess may pledges
Here in the prisons those wishing to
pledge their eyes after death may sign a
pledge card at the CASTLE offices and a
pocket card acknowledging the donation
will be received within a short timeo
Persons not in the prison may apply to
the Lions Eye Bank‘9 101 west Chestnut
Streets Louisville 29 Kentuckyg or to
any member of the lions Clubs
)2“
Reverend Jerome Glahn'9 a longwtime resi~
dent of Owensboros Kentucky, will become
KSP's part-time Catholic Chaplain, rem
placing Reverend William Mo McAtee of
Calvert City° Reverend Glahn will live
in nearby Princetone
Father McAtee has been suffering from an
enlarged hearto This condition9 and a
reorganization in the Ovmnsboro dioceses
of which the penitentiary is a part”
made the change necessaryo
.Father McAtee instituted weekly masses
here at the institution some time agoo
Catholic services formerly were held
monthlyo Currently‘9 the mass is cele=
brated each Sunday afternoon at 3:309
and is the only Catholic activity availu
able to inmateso Catholic religious
instruction may» however, be available
in the futureo
ART BLOOMS IN PRISON lUMBERPILE
His "studio" is a pile of lumber waiting
to be used in the new schoolwgymnasium
under construction hares and his
"models" are usually blackmand—white
wallet-sized photosa often welldworn and
faded from constant carryingo But Jim
McKinneya who does the CASTLE98 art work
in his spare time, turns out some truly
beautiful pastel portraits in spite of
his working conditionso
The 55~year-old Lexington man keeps busy
most of the week painting pictures of
the wives, sweetheartss mothers and
children of his convict "clients," most
of whom are delighted with his worko It
takes him about a day of steady work to
produce a true likeness with his pastel
chalks.‘9 and the fee he charges is nomiu
nal -~ barely enough to pay for his
materials and keep him in tobacco and
other necessitieso But, as he says, it
keeps his hand in and passes off the
time in a constructive wayo
McKinney93 talent is natural° He has
had almost no formal art trainings
learning the secrets 'of working with
most media through trial and errors
”Vs—.NV- nu “Nil m ... A
FAILURE TO CALL LAWYER Is MISDENLEANOR
In Iowag an arresting officer who fails
to call an attorney when requested to do
‘so by an intoxicated driver is guilty of
a misdemeanors says THE PRESIDIO.
So ruled Iowa Attorney General Evan
Hultman, in response to a request for a
ruling by State Representative John
Duffy.
Under this ruling an intoxicated motorm
ist who has been arrested and is unable
to place a call to an attorney himself
,may'request that this be done for him.
CALIFORNIA OKAYS TEMPORARY RELEASES FOR
PAROLED GONS' FDR «JOBGSEEKING PURPOSES
Inmates of San Quentins Folsom, Soledad
and Chino”
facilities in Californiafis gigantic
penal complex no longer have to buck the
sometimes impossible task of finding a
job while still in prisons says _the
FOISOM OBSERVERa
Senate Bill, 361s recently signed by
California Governor Edmond G. "Pat“
Brown. authorizes the California Direc-
tor of Corrections to allow prisoners
who have been granted parole to take a
temporary leave from prison to work out
a parole placement program for theme
selves. This means that prisoners will
be able to contact prospective employers
and find lodging in.persong rather than
by mail.
Manama CONS cop TWO LIBRATURE PRIZES
George E. Hooper and EdWard Metcalfep
both of the Maryland State Penitentiary,
took first and second prize respectively
in the literature division of the Robert
Lindner Prisoner Awards Competition this
year. Both entered bookmlength works.
In other divisions, Miss Ellen Afterman
and Anthony Pughg both of New‘York
prisons, won the top prizes in arts in
Inusic,9 Aaron Burton of California and
Ellis E. Ford of Massachusetts were the
winners. The two top prizes consisted
of cash awards of $50 and $25.
as well as other prisons and'
CHAPLAIN JAGGERS NOW ON RETIRED STATUS
Reverend Paul Jaggers, Chaplain of this
maximum-security institution for more
than eleven yearss officially retires
this month. He has been absent from the
prison since he was stricken with bone
cancer some months ago.
Chaplain Jaggerss 6h9
Louisville, where he attended public
schoolss. as well as the Bryant and
Stratton Business Colleges, the Universim
ty of Louisville, and the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary» also of
Louisville. Following his graduation
from the seminary» he entered the minis»
try; serving as a pastor for more than
ho years.
was reared in
Within the prison, the Chaplain often
organized and moderated informal classes
in psychology, classes which often de—
veloped into groupwtherapy sessions
without actually being called such. He
was fond of debates and his dry wit and
liberal views made him popular with many
of the inmates. During the early 50s,
when riots tore through many of the
nation9s prisons, he was credited with
helping to bring to a bloodless end an
uprising in this prison.
For some weeks before leaving the instim
tutiong the Chaplain was handicapped by
what was then thought to be a bursitis
in the muscles of the hip. It was at
the Kentucky Baptist Hospital in Louisa
ville that he first discovered the ailw
ment that was causing his painful limp
was cancer. He underwent surgery short=
ly afterwards, but the operation was
ended when it was discovered that the
malignant growth was too widespread to
be safely rmnoved with the knife.
Reverend Jaggers is now living with his
wife in Louisville. He continues to go
to the outpatient clinic of the hoopital
for treatne nt .
Reverend Calvin Wilkins, Pastor of the
Kuttawa Baptist Church, has been serving
voluntarily as Acting Chaplain. He-and
Reverend.R. G. Shelton of Eddyville also
alternated in the pulpit on Sundays.
5
REVEREND HOUSTON E. INMAN, NEW CHAPLAIN,
WILL DBVOTE FULL TIME TO PRISODERS‘.
A Slayearwold Mississippi man with nine
years of ministerial experience behind
him assumed his duties as KSP's new
Protestant Chaplain this month.
Reverend Houston E0 Inman took the KSP
pulpit for the first time Sunday,
September 1. He will replace former
Chaplain Paul Jaggers,, who retired
earlier this year when he was stricken
with bone cancer.
Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Reva
erend Inman took his Bvo at Mississippi
College and his BcDe at the New 0r1eans
Baptist Seminarye He studied psy~
chology of religion for a year as a
special student at the Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Louisville, and
underwent a brief period of clinical
training as Chaplain of leuisville
General Heepitala
experience includes seven
years as a minister in Mississippi
churches and one year as pastor of a
Baptist church in Southern Indianao
Bis pastoral
It was while he was at Mississippi Cole
lege that he met his wifeg Sherleneg who
earned a B030 degree at the institution»
Mrso Inman has taught for five of the
six years they have been married we four
in Mississippi and one in the Louisville
school system a- and hopes to work as a
substitute teacher in this areao
Although it has been the custom in the
past for chaplains to take an outside
church in addition to their vmrk with
the prison congregations Reverend Inman
said in, a brief interview With the
CASTUE that he will devote all of his
time to the inmateso
"My only'anxiety," he said with apparent
sincerity9 "is adjusting myself to priSw
on lifeo I want to fit in» to make a
real contribution to the prisons"
Possibly with that aim in minds Reverend
and Mrso Inman Will make their home in
nearby New Eddyvilleo
6
CORREC T1016 COMMISSION WBE‘RS NAMED
Governor Bert .Combs named late last
month the seven appointive members of
the ll-member Corrections Commission,
created 'by the State Legislature last
June. Included in the appointments were
four' members of Combs“ "Task Force on
Corrections," a body that has made an
intensive study of the State penal
system.
PAUL OBERST, Professor at the University
of Kentucky School of Law? GEORGE STOLL,
Iouisville .businessman; Mo R. MILESQ
'President of the Kentucky Commonwealth
Attorneys Association; And Criminal
Court Judge L. R. CURTBS of Louisville
are the four, according to the LOUIS»
VIIJLE TIMES.
The three. other appointive manbers are
EARL BELLOW' of Olive Hill, Executive
Secretary of the State AFLmCIO; Circuit
Judge J. W. HDDGES of Elizabethtown; and
DR. HOLLIS JOHNSON9 Louisville psychiaw
tristo
The other four members of tie Commiss ion
are ex-officic members: MARSHALL SWAIN;
Commissioner obf Corrections; W; PARKER
HURLEY, Director of Probation and Pa-
role; DRo HAROID BLACK, Director of
Institutions; WALTER FERGUSON9 Chairman
of the Parole Board.
The Commission will officially begin its
duties October 1.
CANNERY CANNING AT TOP SPEED
The KSP cannery,
McChesney, employs
supervised by Fred
50 men during hare
vest months and has already canned
50,000 gallons of produce from the
prison farms, said cannery clerk J° Do
Georgeo
Green beans, a major item in the prison
diet, take up most of the time with
11,000 gallons already canned. Toma-
toes, corn, sauerkrauts and fruit are
other items canned. The cannery will
close sometime in the early part of‘Oct-
ober, said George.
- L n-” ..<-_q.-~—~w—-—H‘
SCRATCH A CRQOKfl FIND A KID?
In a copyrighted. artlule in the PADUGAH
aUN DEMOCRAT,” mlumnlel; Junkln. 1L. J was
Valle of ‘en lnteuvlew with a pmlaun
psy'ahia'buia'b “chm appeared in NEW ERA,
inmate publleatlon uf the Federal Penim
tentinmy wt leavunmemth. The inteum
viewers ueked Leavenwumth"m Du. J. 1w
Baker what mskse a emeoke Bakumlu
answers uhllduwh remutlunm mud aublw
tudsu inside muuuue budleeu
Wluh flew exuepuiunsv Hula Dr. Bakern
criminals are same and knew ulght fuum
wrung» .Bu'f; semewhem wl'bhlu that makeup
of enuh hibiuual uuuek‘uheuu in u strung
streak uf lmmntuuluyp u guru uf uhe perm
Humility um: hmulu wow. up with We!
menu. The uympuumu, Juueu qumuee the
article an suylmg, are law auxieuym
fumtm'blun Mlsmmu, paw geal formula
uioun mud lmpulmlviuyo
"low amuletyeflmuutuuulmzl uulemeuue" lu
interpreted as meaulug luau the ludlm
vuduel owemmueuuuu he 1Muutueulonn in
social and buuiuees llfsn mu n ehlld
Wnuldu that he eupunuu tee muuh of llfug
that he wunum hlu muwuudu quickly and flu
ubundanue without waiting or working for
them in preporfiluno He may he an ewe
eellenu'workuu, a eklllud pruduosrg a
soalelly udepu lnuivldunl uuuh good or
even greet prumlae mm but let fruutran
tlmna and anxieuy pile up and hens ready
to qulu.
"room goal furmatlun“ ls 'uhe inability
'er plan and work ”Ward this fluuw‘eg uu
(filuauu turn to Page a)
DEATH TAKES THE HOODLUM PRIEST
The man when Chulatlikeg menu eut among
the sinners to live, is demo
Father Charles Dismea Clark died at the
age of 62 fella-Mug a long illness. He
paused away in Eu. Maryle Hospital, St.
Louis, on the 15th of last mmntho
A Jeuult priest for 50 yneren Fathem
clerk auuusd his nickname, ”The Hoodlum
Priontg" from his work'wlth urlminmls
and em-eonvlute. In Sta Louis in l959,
he £uundedp wimh orlmlnal lnwwur Merrie
Shenksr, the natluuvu flrut Whal£Wey
house" ~m en_inetitut1un he named Blames
Hausa in honor er the good thief who
filed on u wrums usxt to Shulst.
Dismus Houae hogan as a plume of refuge
fem'rslessed prluunauu who had nu fuude
and nu plume to so upnu thelm release.
unlike meny othere lnvulved in penal
wuukg howsuura Father Clerk took only
uhe must desperate uaese under his wing
am armed rubbers” murdereru, and safe-
ereukurs. Ho ulna preferred to wurk
with multiple nf!‘e:m‘:leuu‘0 mom who had
served thuee or four or mure long
stretches in prison, rauhuu than young
first offendersa who. he ofuen eeld,
usually feel they can still make that
one big "score."
His rseord of success 'was phoupmsnal.
Ordinarily, men and women leaving the
primal that Filmer Clerk culled "crime
suhools" return at the rate of 65 or 70
per cent. But” of the more than 1.000
(Please turn uu Page 9)
7
%,
sacrifice present pleasures for future
rewards, to work and study and strive
over long periods of time to get where
we want to go. "Impulsivity" is the
tendency to gamble away great portions
of the life~Span for a longmshot chance
at some temporary pleasure or gaino
And it all adds up to immaturity -
childish reactions and attitudes in a
mature bodyo
Bro Baker“s thesisg as reported by the
NEW ERAQ as quoted by Jones, hits home.
How easy it is to look back and see how
many times resentment engendered by
frustration at home or at work or in the
community has caused us to kick over the
tracesg to react impulsively and angrily
=~ and lose whatever we had gained up to
that points often at the cost of hard
work and detennination. How often we
have set goals only to lose interest in
them because results didn“t come at
onoeo And how often 'we have gambled
away our lives in a criminal venture
that at best would have gained us very
littlee
we can see the symptoms Dro Baker dew
scribes all around use In some individu»
als here» the immaturity is obviouso It
shows in the preoccupation with horsem
play and waste==time activitiesg in the
SWaggerings "tough guy" pose that insem
cure individuals often take to "prove"
themselves to themselvesg more ’than to
otherso It shows in the childishky
thoughtless attitudes that many inmates
take toward the rights and privileges of
fellow prisonerso
In others it takes the form of underw
taking hopelessly ambitious projects and
dropping them after a few days or weekso
In still otherss outwardly stable and
matures it takes the form of “blind
Spots“ mm the failure to apply .rational
analysis to certain situations in life»
the turning over of the reins as enmtion
in times of stress and anxietyo
So Bro Baker9s point is well takeno
But What is the cure? How do ypu“helpha
man grow up? Can it be done by admonm
8
—l_A
ishing him-to act his age? Can it be
accomplished .by stern discipline and
years of confinement? Dr. Baker doesn’t
say. He does say, however, that what a
prisoner is subjected to during confine»
ment is probably the opposite of what he
needs. He needs to be influenced by
mature individuals, not segregated with
other immature personalities (and, Lperu
haps, eventually arrive at the con»
clusion that» his behavior is normal?).
He needs to learn to accept reaponsibilw
ity, not turn it over to the state. He
needs to learn to live with frustration9
rather than to be removed from ito
The only" "cure" Dr. Baker suggests is
prevention mm-to bring up the child with
love and correction and discipline and
with two mature parents to set the
standards he is to live up too
Pick up almost any penal publication tea
day and chances are youVll find at least
one article that undertakes to define
the word -rehabilitation (a worthwhile
aim‘9 since if rehabilitation can be de»
fined it can be applied)o Perhaps the
NEW ERA has clarified the term by intern
viewing Dre Bakero Perhaps rehabilitaw
tion means maturation. For certainly
the mature individual does not habituale
ly and senselessly and wantonly commit
crimeo
Isnlt it a trim
Isn9t it learning
And what is maturity?
umph of ego over id?
to let reason serve as a check for emo—
tiong learning to live with fear :and
fruStration and the necessity to work to
move ahead to keep from falling back?
There 139 as yet, nothing in any instim
tution I know of that will do much to
help a man'mature'9 grow upo Learning
the multiplication tables and the date
of the SpanishmAmerican war in a prison
school woth do ito Neither will learn»
ing to repair an internal combustion
engine or weld two pieces of metal
togethero' Most of these subjects
are taught by prisoners, and knowing
them didn“t prevent the instructor from
going to prisono Training can help the
confines remove some of the reasons for
his frustrationsg but it can“t do much
to help him increase his ability to
withstand frustration (but note that
nothing said here should be construed as
critical of prison educational programs,
for they contribute much that is im-
portant). Alcoholics Anonymous can help
those with drinking problems overcome
them, and both AA and the few self—help
groups in prison do aid in that they
teach that a man helps himself best when
he helps another. But such groups are
rare.
Ultimately, although trained case-
workers could speed the work, maturation
is a do-it-yourself project. It is a
project that is probably never com—
pleted, certainly one that is far from
39.3 yo
Perhaps the advice Chaplain Jaggers ~—
now retired -- used to give concerning
philosophies applies here. we do not
select or adept philosophies or codes of
ethics or principles, he often saida
Instead, we live our way into them,
little by painful littleo That, eviw
dently, is the way maturity must be
gainedo
DEATH TAKES THE HOODLUM PRIEST (Conqt)
emeriSOners who have been helped by the
tougheminded priest, only 10 have re»
turned to crime -~ less than 1 per cents
What made the difference? Probably
Father Clark"s genuine and intense inm
terest in his "gango" Probably his
ability to draw the poison from.per~
sonalities that had rotted and decayed
behind barso
"A man is ruined in prison we mentally,
phySically, morally," he saide "First,
their minds and willso Next, their
bodies .00 When a man has been 'in for
one, two, at most three years, he's
reached the point of satiationc HeVS
had its So far as prison can punish and
reform him, it“s been doneo 30 m— he's
kept seven, eight, ten yearso By the
time he comes out he's ruined» And he9s
usually full of hatreda"
It was these men that Father Clark cared
most for -- long-termers, full of
hatred, unwanted, without connections or
money or hepea He took away the hatred,
he made them wanted, he gave them hope
ace and he re