Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 60, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 October 1916 — PUNISHMENT FOR REFORMATION [ARTICLE]

PUNISHMENT FOR REFORMATION

Edward E. Dudding of Huntington, West Virginia, himself an exconvict, claims to have secured employment for 3,000 ex-convicts. He also claims that of that number less than 100 have “fallen down” on their jobs. Mr. Dudding has gotten hold of the right wire in twentieth century reform. Strange that otherwise kindhearted and humane people will persist in “punishing” the criminal, even after he has paid the uttermost farthing of his penalty. Why cannot we all see that the logical end of law is not'to punish but to reform the evil-doer? Pause a moment and consider that word “punish.” Doesn’t it smack too much of vengeance? And whoever heard of vengeance reforming a transgressor? Perhaps when the vengeance has so completely broken the poor wretch that he has lost the power of resentment we may consider him reformed, but God save us from such reformation. As men of enlightenment and mercy, we should look on the law machinery of the land merely as the means by which we may reform or re-make the human character which untoward circumstances have warped and twisted out of its original symmetry. The very idea of punishment is repugnant to the soul of the merciful man, and should have no place in our scheme of life. We insist that the idea of punishment as applied to the. evil-doer is unworthy of the enlightened citizenship of this great country. Reform the evil-doer, re-make the warped and twisted character; restrain, if necessary, the incurably vicious, but punish—never.