xt7dr785mv98 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7dr785mv98/data/mets.xml  Kentucky  1964 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, April 1964 text Kentucky State Penitentiary v.: ill. 28 cm. Call Numbers HV8301 .C37 and 17-C817 20:C279 Castle on the Cumberland, April 1964 1964 1964 2021 true xt7dr785mv98 section xt7dr785mv98  

  

 

  

 

Volume III, Number X CASTLE ON THE CUMBERLAND April, 196h

 

ADMINISTRATION' IN THIS MONTH’S CASTLE

Wu.“

 

The Honorable EDWARD T. BREATHITT, Governor
Castle News 2
The Honorable HARRY WATERFIELD, Lt. Governor
Editorial
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: (letter to the Inmates) 10

 

JOSEPH CANNON, Commissioner Chaplains' Corner 11

MARSHALL SWAIN, Deputy Commissioner
THE 1,825th DAY
Dr. HAROLD BLACK, Director of Institutions A Ficticious Prisoner
Lives Through a Typi-

 

 

W. Z. CARTER, Director of Education cal Day 12
BOARD OF PARDONS & PAROLES
Exchange Page 17
Dr. FRED MOFEATT, Executive Director ,
Tall Tales 18
WALTER FERGUSON, Chairman
. Department Reports 19
SIMEON'WILLIS, Member
The Umpire's Corner 22
ERNEST THOMPSON, Member
Crossword Puzzle 25
Mrs. LUCILLE HURT, Member
. Statis tics & Movies 21;
The Castle Laughs 2h

PENITBNTIARY ADMINISTRATION

 

 

LUTHER THOMAS, Warden

LLOYD ARMSTRONG, Deputy Warden

1 CASTLE STAFF

W. 0. LONG, Captain of the Guard

Rev. HOUSTON E. INMAN, Protestant Chaplain
Rev. THOMAS CLARK, Catholic Chaplain Lawrence Snow, Editor

HENRY E. COWAN, Supervisor of Education James McKinney, Art Editor

WILLIAM EGBERT, Vocational Instructor John Busby, Multilith Operator

 

 

The Castle on the Cumberland is published on the second Monday of every month by
the inmates of the Kentucky State Penitentiary, Eddyville, Subscriptions, one
dollar a year. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect
those of the administrations Permission to reprint any part of this magazine is
granted, provided credit is given to author and source.

 

 

_ 1..

 

 

 BILL TO END DEATH PENALTY DIES IN SENATE
AFTER MAKING HISTORY BY PASSING HOUSE

March 18 -- A bill that would have aboiw
ished capital punishment in Kentucky
died in the Senate Rules Committee today
after it made Kentucky history by pass-
ing the House.

The measure was introduced by Represent-
ative Richard Frymire (D., Madison-
ville), a minister. A public hearing on
the bill, at which a Louisville re-
porter, a former Commissioner of Welfare
and a University of Louisville professor
argued that the death penalty is imw
moral and ineffective as a deterrent,
turned up only one witness flatly op-
posed to it. A similar measure provid-
ing for life sentences without privilege
of parole as a substitute for the
electric chair was rejected as calling
for a "living deaths"

The bill was voted upon with little
debate and passed the House 5h to 9, the
first such bill ever to pass a house of
the Kentucky legislature. It then went
to the Senate, where the Rules Committee
failed to report it out for a vote.

Had the bill passed into law, it would
have made Kentucky the 10th state to
abolish death as a penalty for crime.
Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michi—
gan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin
and Rhode Island have no death penalty,
according to 1962 statistics, although
Rhode Island does retain the death
penalty for persons who commit murder
while under a life sentences

and the District of
electric chair, seven

Twentyhtwo states
Columbia use the

states employ hanging, and 12 states use_

lethal gas to do away with condemned
criminalso One of the "hanging" states,
Utah, provides that the condemned may

choose shooting as a substitute.

 

WILLIAM KEMMLER became in 1890 the first
criminal to be executed in the electric
chair. In 18h7, Michigan became the
first state to end the death penaltyo

-2-

BOND ISSUE BILL PASSED, INCLUDES 83.3“
MILLION FOR PRIsch, rises '65 APPROVAL

March 19 -- The General Assembly today
approved Governor Breathitt‘s $176
million highway and construction bond
issue bill, a measure that includes
$5.5 million for prison construction.

The issue must go before the public for
final approval in November, 1965, ac-
cording to The Louisville Times.

The funds allocated to the prisons will

permit some of the building projects
recommended by the Task Force on Correc-
tions, which Said $12 million would be
needed to renovate and modernize exist-
ing facilities and build new ones, in—
cluding a separate institution for
youthful offenderse

If the voters approve the measure in the
1965 referendum, $139 million will go to
match federal highway construction
funds, the remaining $37 million for
college, prison, mental health and other
building projects.

The prisons“ $3.5 million share, accord-
ing to Louisville Times reporter Dick
Berger, will go for:

l. Renovation of LaGrange Reformatory.
Some renovation has already been
startedo

2. A self-contained "honor farm? dormi-
tory complex at LaGrange, a unit that
would house 500 trusties, cost $800,000.

3. Another self-contained farm complex
for 250 men here at Eddyville, $700,000;

h. A vocational training building at
LaGrange, $hO0,000o

5. Two new forestry camps, housing 50
men each, at a total cost of $150,000-
One would be at Dawson Springs, another
at Prestonburge

  

 

 

HERE IS MORE ON NEW PAROLE-ELIGIBILITY RULES AS CLARIFIED BY CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENT

 

April 1 -- Starting this month, the
Parole Board will hear about 50 cases
each month in addition to regular cases,
according to a directive received here
from the Department of Corrections. The
extra cases will be heard until all
prisoners who are overdue for considera-
tion under the new parole-eligibility
regulations have had their chance at
freedom.

A further clarification of the rules was
also contained in the directive. The
new regulations, made possible by the
parole-reform bill passed in last sum—
mer's Special session, were made public
last month.

HERE'S HOW YOUR CASE will be heard under
the new rules. If you are ...

... OVERDUE FOR PAROLE CONSIDERATION,
your case will be heard sometime in the
next months as one of the 50 additional

monthly cases. How soon you will be
considered depends on how much overdue
you are a

... SERVING UP TO 3 YEARS, you will be
considered as provided for by the old
law; that is, 1-year terms serve h
months, 2-year terms serve 6 months, 3-
year terms serve 10 months. In no case,
of course, is a parole guaranteed at the
end of the eligibility period.

... SERVING UP TO 15 YEARS, but more
than 3 years, your case will be cone
sidered on the 12th month following your
arrival at the prison. Under the old
law you would have been required to
serve 1/3 of your term.

... SERVING MORE THAN 15 YEARS, but not
more than 21 years, your case will come
up A years after you were committed.
The old law required you to serve 6
years o

no. SERVING LIFE OR ANY OTHER TERM in
excess of 21 years, including multiple
life terms, you are eligible 6 years
after commitment, instead of the 8 years

Sentences
are

required under the old law.
of life without privilege of parole
not, of course, included.

With one important exception, no prison-
er can serve more than 6 years to be
eligible for parole. That exception
concerns sentences received for crimes
committed after being sent to prison.
Escape and crimes committed while on es-
cape would be examples.

 

AN AUTOMATIC YEAR DEFERMENT -- that is,
a year more than the original eligibili-
ty date -- will be given in cases of es-
cape sentences, an additional year de-
ferment on other new sentences up to 15
years.

NEW SENTENCES OF MORE THAN 15 YEARS will
result in the prisoner serving his orig-
inal eligibility time plus the h or

years more to become eligible on the new
sentence, provided the crime was commit-
ted after being committed to prison. A
lifer who commits a new crime calling
for a new life sentence would not be el-
igible to see the board before 12 years.

PERSONS NOW SERVING DEFERMENTS will not
be routinely considered again until the
deferment eXpires, nor will "serve-outs"_
be routinely reconsidered, according to
the directive.

oOo

\

STORM—DAMAGED SMOKE STACK REPAIRED

Pleasant weather and the ancient attrac-
tion of watching high-climbing steeple—
jacks at work brought hundreds of men
out of the shops to "supervise" the work
of a crew that repaired the boiler-room
smokestack here last month. The stack's
tOpmost bricks were blasted away and a
25-foot crack appeared in it during
stormy weather that brought two torna-
does into the area.

Workers from the Chimney Engineering
Service, St. Louis, Missouri, repaired
the 125-foot-high stack.

-3...

 1

INMATE AND GUARD INJURED IN FALL FROM SCAFFOLDING ON NEW EDUCATION BUILDING

 

EDITOR URGES {JMITING OF PRE-TRIAL NEWS

 

April 2 -- A prominent Kentucky newsman
today recommended that lawyers and
editors study the possibility of limit-
ing pre-trial news coverage in the in-
terest of fair play and justice, an AP
diSpatch said.

"I don't think the press has a right to
open up a man's life and tear it apart
on whim," said Norman E. Isaacs, execu-
tive editor of The Louisville Times and
The Courier Journals Isaacs was Speak—
ing at Indiana University's School of
Law in a panel discussion on the con—
flicts between constitutional free—press
and fair-trial guaranteesm

Other Speakers included one state and
two federal judges, an Indiana prosecu-
tor, a former Indiana Civil Liberties
Union president, and a broadcaster.

Leroy K. New, chief deputy prosecutor of
Indiana’s Marion County, said the courts
are "public property" and that tampering
with the First Amendment is "toying with
dynamite," His remarks came in reSponse
to Isaacs' recommendation that the
British system of forbidding reporting
of evidence and lawyers' arguments be-
fore the trial be studied for possible
adOption here.

U6 3. Appellate Judge John 3. Hastings,
moderating the session, predicted that
the U. S. Supreme Court would eventually
be called upon to hand down a decision
on the conflicting rights if, by legis-
lation or custom, the guarantees of free
press and fair trial cannot be "made to
live with each other."

ANOTHER PAIR OF EYES PLEDGED HERE

 

March 12 -- Theodore Steele signed a
Lions Eye Bank pledge card today, join-
ing the approximately 60 KS? inmates who

have "willed" their eyes to the bank
since a condemned prisoner donated his
and urged others to do the same in

February, 19620
4,.

 

BOTH NOW RECOVERING WELL

March 18 -— Two men, an inmate and a
guard, were injured today when a scaf-
folding on which they were working gave
ways The accident occured on the site
of the new education—recreation building
under cometruction here for more than a
year.

Injured were Robert Baldridge, about 55,
and Officer Homer Troy Bozarth, about
58. Baldridge, a native of Paintsville,

Kentucky who has been serving a 21-year
sentence since 1956, sustained pelvis
fractures and spinal injuries; Bozarth,

of Princeton, Kentucky, suffered a
fractured knee and possible other in-
juries.

According to witnesses, the two wen
climbing a scaffolding to work on the
second—floor wall of the new buildhg
when the scaffolding either slipped or
collapSed. Bozarth fell to the concrete
second floor, while Baldridge plummeuw
to the basement level;

Both men were taken to the prison hos-

pital and immediately transferred by
ambulance to Caldwell County Memorial
Hospital, Princeton, where they are

reportedly mending well.
It was the first serious accident on tm

construction sitec

CALLED ON TO
RISING WATgllS;

AGAIN
FIGHT

KSP TRUSTIES
HELP SMITHLAND

Two crews of trusties from the prism
farm worked during parts of two dew
last month to help He village of Smith'
land, Kentucky reinforce its levfl
against rising waters from the Cumber-
land and Ohio rivers. Twentyhfour ‘
inmates in all answered the emergemfl
call.

Convicts have gone to the aid of tm
town .at least twice before in receMi*
yearse

 

 

  

 

VOCATIONAL TRAINING, HIGHERY'RDUCATION
MAY BE OFFERED HERE UNDER FEDERAL PLAN

College degrees, trades training, artim
ficial limbs and corrective operatiens
may be within the graSp of KS? prisoners
when plans jell for obtaining .federal
funds for vocational rehabilitation, ac-
cording to Dr. J. Wysocki, the prison's
volunteer psychiatric consultanto

The federal aid, made pOSSible under the
Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1920,
will come from the Office of Vocational
Rehabilitation, a federal agency which
is the central instrument in a- federalw
state system for the rehabilitation of
disabled personso '

Under amendments tacked onto the act in
l9h5, the federal funds were made avail-
able to the mentally and emotionally
handicapped as well as those with purely
physical disabilitieso

The idea for using the agency services
originated with Dre Wysocki, whose regu-
lar job is that of chief of medical

staff at Hopkinsvilleis western State
HoSpital. The program has been in
Operation there for two years, and

several mental patients at Western State
have furthered their education or res
ceived vocational training in that man-
ner.

Working through the Department of Corn
rections and Irvin Ko White, area superu
visor of the Bureau of Rehabilitation
Services in Owensboro, Dru Wysocki
succeeded in getting the aid extended to
the penitentiary.

Under the proposed program, inmates with
physical disabilities could have them

corrected, or artificial limbs, braces
and other corrective devices could be
provided. Prisoners with or without

actual physical disabilities could get
extension training in the trade or voca-
tion of their choice or apply for
college trainings

Interviewing for the program has already
gotten under way.

60.11333 ENReLIED IN "OPERATION ALPHABET”
PROGRAM BROADCAST B"! AREA TV STATION

March 16 m» Sixty KSP inmates with lit-
tle or no education were 'given "okays"
today, enabling them to leave their
cells an hour earlier each morning to
view a televised program aimed at com-
bating illiteracy. They will learn
basic reading and writing skills during
the 100-part, 20wweek “Operation Alphaw
bet" series, televised in this area by
“WEDwTV, Paducah.

Also "okayed out” for the duration of
the series were all inmate instructors
regularly assigned to the prison school.
Supervised by Education Supervisor Henry
Cowan and Vocational Instructor William
Egbert, they will assist the students
during the halfwhour filmed telecast and

the two 15—minute discussion sessions
before and after the broadcast. The
sessions will start at 6315 and run

through 7:15 each weekday morning.

"Operation Alphabet? was developed by
the extension division of the Philadel-
phia school system and was first tele-
cast by a Philadelphia station in
January, 1961. The success of the
series in the Philadelphia area attract-
ed the attention of adult educators
across the country, and the series was
later offered for free distribution by
the school system and the University of
Pennsylvania Annenberg School of Com-
municatiomso The series is being epon-
sored here by Paducah City Schools, said
Mr. Cowane

Adults participating in the program are
taught the alphabet, progress to reading
and writing simple sentences ("Friday is
my pay day. I get 12 dollars a days")
and go on to writing letters, reading
calendars, telling time. A workbook is
used in conjunction with the televised
serieso

A 23-inch television set and the worke
books were purchased by the inmate
welfare fund, made up of profits from
the prison canteen, said Mr. Cowan. Mr.
Joseph Ruppell is canteen manager.

-5-

  

 

IN HARPER'S
CONTEST

SEVEN WINNERS ANNOUNCED
MAGAZINE CONVICT WRITING

 

Seven prisoners in Ohio, California and
New Mexico won cash prizes of from 3150
to $20 in a Special writing contest for
inmates of selected prisons. The con-
test was Sponsored by Harper's magazines

Ten state and federal prisons were se-
lected by Harper's to take part in the
contest. Contestants were to write

articles on prisons and reform efforts,
and winning articles are to be used in a
Special "Crime and Punishment" supple—

ment in the April, lgéh issue of
Harper's.

Winners were: let Prize ($150), Calvin
G. Reid, Ohio Prison; 2nd Prize ($100},

Kenneth E. Whelan, San Quentin, Califor-
nia; 3rd Prize ($50), a tie, Jim Little,
Ohio Prison, and Robert A. Trask, San
Quentin.

of $20 each went to
Prison, Paul Leroy
and Mel Lo Nations,

Honorable mentions
Bob McKay, Ohio
Allen, San Quentin,
New Mexico Prison.

JUDGE wHo SWORE IN LBJ VISITS U. 8. BEN

 

Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes, who ad-
ministered the oath of office to L. B.
Johnson in the presidential jet follow—
ing the assasination of John F. Kennedy,
talked to an inmate club at the Federal
Reformatory at Seagoville, Texas, re-

cently.

She was a guest of the prisoners' Gavel
Club, an affiliate of Toastmasters
International.

NORTH YARD NOW OPEN DAILY FOR.BALL GAMES.

 

A fenced-in yard beyond the prison
walls, Opened for occasional ball games
last November, has been declared "open"
daily for baseball and softball games.

The yard, several acres large, is
tected by double wire
towers.

-6-

pro-
fences and gun

"FISH" NOW UNDERGO ORIENTATION TALKS

 

Men newly‘ committed to the prison --
known as "fish" in prison parlance --
will now hear orientation addresses from
six penitentiary officials as part of
the admittance routine.

Men lodged in the quarantine unit ("fish
tank") will be called out the first and
third Mondays of the month to hear the
Warden, Deputy Warden, Chaplain, School
Principal, Athletic Director and Insti-
tutional Parole Officer talk on such
subjects as security and discipline,
prison regulations, religious and re-
habilitation services, academic and
vocational programs, recreation and the
parole and occupational prograns.

BAG BOOBY—TRAPPED TO BAG THIEVES

 

It's a dirty trick to play on an un-
suspecting thief, but John Fisher of
Woking, England, has invented a boobyb

trapped suitcase for bank messengers.

According to a UPI report, when the bag
is snatched out of the bank messenger's
hand, a trigger sets off a device that
clamps the handle to the thief's hand.

Then, with a resounding bang, three six-
foot poles shoot out from the bag,
making it unwieldy to run with, impossi-
ble to get into a car.

TELLER.WAS HOODWINKED

 

Los Angeles -- A man who did the impos-
sible -- shortchanged a bank teller --
was sought today by police, not to men-
tion the bank teller, according to the
L. Ao Herald Examiner.

Officers said the fellow handed a $100
bill through a cage in a bank at 10929
Wilshire Boulevard recently and asked
for change -- 25 $1 bills, five 5$ and
10 $108.

Later the teller realized he
the "customer" $150.

had given

mic.“ is __., r

 AREA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS RESEARCH,
WRITE, PUBLISH BOOK, INCLUDE KSP HISTORY

The history of the Kentucky State Peniw
tentiary is included in a book of Lyon
County history being published by the
senior class of Lyon County High School.

The book, One Century of Lyon County

 

History, was researched
the students as’a class project. About
6" by 9" in size, it runs to 120 pages,
and is being printed now by a Paducah
firm. The book may be ordered by mail
for $5.50 plus 25¢ postage from Lyon
County High School, Eddyville, Kentucky.
It will be delivered in May.

and written by

EX-CONVICT DIRECTS UNIQUE KANSAS PROGRAM

 

An entertainer, lecturer and businessman
who has toured with Bob Hope and who al—
so happens to be a three-time loser is
directing a program that is being close-
ly watched by penal authorities around
the countryo '
Bill Sands, a

former armed robber who

did his last hitch in l9h0, is working
out plans for a halfway house in Kansas
City, Kansas. The house, which will

provide a home for inmates released from
the Kansas State Prison, Lansing, will
be known as Freedom House, It will be
Operated soley by ex-prisoners.

Sands and other ex-cons conduct a h—week
pre-release seminar within the walls for
prisoners who are soon to go home. They
answer prisoners' questions, direct dis-

cussions aimed at preparing the men to
make good on parole.

"Correctional experts are trying to
help," says Sands, "but how can they

tell a man what his problems will be
When they have not lived through the
same experiences themselves?"

Sands, son of a California judge, served
three terms in San Quentine At one
point he was a cellmate of Caryl Chess-
man when both were 19-year—old first
offenders.

COURT RULIHG COULD FREE THOUSANDS OF
CONS NOT ADVISED OF RIGHT TO COUNSEL

March 27 —~ The U. S. Court of Appeals
applied unlimited retroactivity to a de-
cision made last year by the U. So Su-
preme Court, clearing the way for new
trials or possible outright freedom for
thousands of convicts who were tried
without being advised of their right to
legal counsel, said the UPI today.

in the decision of
the Appellate Court involved four men
sentenced in New York to long terms as
second offenders. They claimed the sen-
tences were unlawful because they were
not told of their right to counsel at
their first trials in other states, and
that they should now be sentenced as
first offenders.

The case resulting

The court ruled that the men were en-
titled to a hearing to prove their first
convictions to be illegal. If they suc-
ceed, they must be re-sentenced by the
New York court as first offenders, a
procedure that could result in lesser
termso

hith this latest ruling, thousands of
convicts may appeal on the grounds that
they were not advised of their rights,

thus winning a new trial or outright
freedom if the case cannot be re-tried
because witnesses and evidence are no

longer available.

The historic Gideon case, in which the
U0 S. Supreme Court ruled that all per-
sons charged with serious crimes are en-
titled to legal counsel, regardless of
their ability to pay, was the basis of
the four's allegations.

A CHARLESTON "FIRST" IN SCIENCE

 

The first science museum in the United
States was founded in 1775 by the
Charleston (South Carolina) Library
Society.

-7-

 

 KSP INMATE HAS RARE MEMORY FOR NUMBERS

 

Thomas "waterdog" Richardson is one man
who won't be bothered by the new Zip
Code system. For Richardson, memorizing
a number is an automatic process that
calls for little more than a glance.

Richardson, 51, apparently doesn't have
a "photographic" memory for anything but

digitse He has trouble reading and
writing, and he only got to the 5rd
grade in school. But once he sees a
number, it's almost impossible for him
to forget it.

Take prison numbers, for instance.

Richardson knows the numbers of hundreds
of convicts here, even though he may not
know their names and may never have
Spoken to them. He even knows the num-
ber of one man on Death Row, a man he's
never seen.

It's not that he makes any effort to re-
member the digits. He just can't forget
them.

Take the man on Death Row, for instances
Someone mentioned his name and number in
Richardson's hearing, and the number
just “took." Now he can recall it at
Will;

He knows the prison numbers of the
editor and associate editor, even though
their paths seldom cross his. Name a
man, or point him out, and he'll tell
you the man's number.

Given a Social Security number and an
army serial number to glance at, he'll
"read" it back for you minutes later.
Richardson is a native
Kentucky,
tence and an additional 3 years for
escape. He went to the prison school
here for a while, then transferred to a
construction detail. Academic-level
tests do not, however, show any marked
superiority in arithmetic, and he still
can't work fractionso

of Somerset,

Richardson,

-3-

who came to prison in 1956,

and he's serving a life sen--

has never held in outside job that would
tend to train him in number-recall and
never thought much about his rare abili-
ty until, in the LaGrange Reformatory,
he Was put to work in the license—plate
factory. There, to the astonishment of
fellow workers, he would consistently
but absentmindedly call out the names of
fellow prisoners whose numbers corres—
ponded with the numbers being printed on
the auto tags.

MORE ROOM MADE IN SCHOOL, HOURS EXTENDED

The boxing ring has been torn out of the
combined one-room gymnasium-school here
and academic classes have been extended
into the afternoon hours, Education
Supervisor Henry Cowan announced last
m0 nth-e

The afternoon period had been given over

to vocational classes and the "crmn
course" for inmates wishing to try for
the high school equivalency tests. Re-

moval of the ring will make room for the
afternoon academic classes, which extend-
through the 8th gradeo

New classes in both academic and voca-
tional programs include a civics course
in the 6th through 8th grades and an
office skills course.

Educational and recreational activities
will have separate Space when the new
education-recreation building is com-
pleted, probably this fall.

BLOODHOUND DEFECTS WITH ESCAPED CON

 

Some South Carolina officers were mighty
embarrassed recently when they put two
bloodhounds on the track of James Robert
Wilson, escapee from a prison camp.

According to penal press sources, one
dog was taken out of the hunt by a
Speeding automobile. The other went on
after the fugitive, but tracks told the
manhunters a discouraging story: the
dog and the fugitive teamed up, left the
scene togethere

Wilson, as it turned out, had helped
train the turncoat hounds

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

BRITISH VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE WILL RECEIVE

 

GOVERNMENT COMPENSATION UNDER NEW PLAN

British victims of criminal violence
will have the privilege of claiming cash
compensation from the government under
a plan eXpected to pass parliament soon,
The Louisville Times reported recently.
A similar program has already gotten
underway in New Zealand.

Based on the recognition that British
penology is now aimed at treatment and
reform rather than punishment, the pro-
gram seeks to ease growing concern over
the situation of criminals' victims, the
story said.

Cash grants under the plan, result of a
five-year study, will be recognized as a
"favor" of the state rather than a legal
right. Hopefully the criminal himself,
when caught, will eventually be made to
pay as great a part of the damages as
possible. But this will not be feasi-
ble, an official said, until plans are
realized to put prisoners on full-time
paid work.

Victims will not be repaid for loss of
property, presumably to avoid conflict
with insurance programs, and common-law
damage scales will be used to determine
the amount of the grants in injury
cases. ‘

A CONFUSION OF TONGUES

 

Of the hundreds of languages Spoken in

the modern world, 68 are used as native
tongues by 5 million or more pe0ple
each. These include such little-known

tongues as Amharic, 20 million speakers;
Bantu, h5 million; Tamil, 27 million and
Uzbek, 6 million.

Chinese leads with 510 million people
speaking its various dialects, followed
by Indie with h15 million, English, 290
million, and Russian, 170 millions

 

EDUCATION, LIFETIME EARNINGS, RELATED

 

Not everyone goes to college primarily
to increase his earning power, but a
college degree is on the average worth
$170,000 more than a high-school diplo-
ma, $233,000 more than a grade-school
education. Or so says financial colum—
nist Sylvia Porter.

Miss Porter took her statistics from an
article by Dr. Herman P. Miller, Special
Census Bureau, in the Bureau‘s Occupa-
tional Outlook Quarterly.

Average lifetime earnings of persons
with varying degrees of education, ac-
cording to the article, are:

 

1e Eighth grade education: $lh5,000
2. High school diploma: 2h7,000
3. Four yrs. or more college: hi7,000
LAND OF CONTRASTS

California could well be called the

Known for its tem-
nevertheless holds

Paradoxical States
perate climate, it

the U. Sc records for: HIGHEST RECORDED:
TEMPERATURE- (15h degrees, at Death
Valley, also the lowest point in the

United States), MOST RAINFALL in a one-
month period (71.5h inches, Helen.Mine),
the LEAST AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL (1.66 ,
inches at Greenland Ranch), the LONGEST
RAINLESS PERIOD (767 days, Bagdad), and
the HEAVIEST SNOhFALL in one month (390
inches, Tamarack)e
000

A WORD TO OUR INMATE READERS

 

TC CORRECT SOME MISCONCEPTIONS about the
Castle office, no printing of any kind
is done there, and the only other work
performed is the editing of the magazine
and preparation of plates for printing.
Letterheads and envelopes, as well as
movie selections and printing of the
movie lists, are all handled elsewhere.
DEADLINE FOR MATERIAL: Regular features
(columns and department reports) and
very short items, the 25th; stories,
feature articles and other long, un-
scheduled material, the 15the

1339a

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:1 Dr I EEHL

SMITHLAND RESIDENT SENDS THANKS TO CONS WHO AIDED TOWN

 

 

 

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: In place of the editorial originally scheduled for this page, we
are presenting the following letter, addressed to the inmates through the Warden.

Smithland, Kentucky
April 7, 196M

warden of Eddyville Penitentiary
Eddyville, Kentucky

Dear Sir:

WOuld you please give to the men there the tremendous
appreciation of the peOple of Smithland for their saving us
and our houses from the flood a few weeks agoq

They volunteered for work that was cold, wet and
dangerous and without pay, but believe me with much apprecia-
ti on.

I look around my home (I am a widow with a home behind
the levee) and I realize that if it had not been for their
help this would all be goneo Vast numbers of us owe them
what we now enjoyo

Will you please read .them this by way of feeble
gratitude, and thanks to you and the guards for making their
help possible.

MRS. C. W. BEGGS

 

 

-10-

 

 

  

 

a LHJHPLE 3+LL LN;

REV. HOUSTON INMAN, PROTESTANT CHAPLAIN

The problem of temptation is as old as
the human race. From Adam and Eve to
the latest human being the alibi for
succumbing to temptation has always
been, "It wasn't my fault, Since God
made me this way, why should I be held
responsible for doing the things I do?"
In our modern times excuses fo; moral
misconduct are based on the attitude
which denies man's freedom of choice and
thereby revokes all personal respon-
sibilityl If a man is not free to
choose between alternatives then he can-
not be held accountable for the results
of his deeds: fate, society, and cirw
cumstances are usually blamed.

It is true that many factors in life are
beyond the control of human beings, An
individual doesn't choose his parents,
the color of his skin, or his environ-
ment in childhood. However, the fact
remains that social relationships could
not be established and maintained if in-
dividuals were not held reSponsible for
their actions, Furthennare, most people
would probably resent being treated as
if they were totally irresPonsible,
e.ge, as an infant or an imbecile is
treated.

The decisions we make detennine the good
or evil outcome, In so far as a man has
an opportunity to choose, he is re3pon—
sible for his choice, and he cannot lay
the blame upon his creator or upon any-
one elsee It should be understood, how—
ever, that the margin of freedom varies
with different people, Some are more
handicapped than others through no fault
of their owns This should cause us to
be less harsh in passing moral judgement
on others, Actually, our real reapon-
sibility is self-criticism in the light
of our own relationship to God and to
others. Spiritual death is the conse—
quence of refusing this resPonsibility

(Please turn to page lb)

 

 

(3— Cl 3 N :33

FATHER THOMAS CLARK, CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN

The greater number of Christians are
labouring under a mistake: They know
that they have been redeemed, but they
do not realize that they have to do
their part in the work of Redemption by
labouring to redeem their brethreno

It is God's wish that all men should be
saved, but this wish is not absolute;
God does not say, "In Spite of them and
without their help or the assistance of
others, I will fix their eternal desti-
ny," but rather, "with them, by them,
and thanks to the help of their breth-
renn" This is a reminder that, together
with the divine liberty, there are two
free wills cooPerating in the redemption
of the world. In the first place,-Hmre
is our own individual free will; and
secondly