The Prison Chaplaincy, And Its ExperiencesQuinby, Hosea
Religion
The Prison Chaplaincy, And Its Experiences
Quinby, Hosea
Prison chaplains; Prisoners -- Religious life; Prisons -- New Hampshire
She takes from him the right to live and act outside of prison walls, to
be a master to himself inside, and to receive his earnings as his own.
These constitute the sum total. As he had used his liberty and the
mastery of himself to the public damage, she justly steps in, deprives
him of the one and takes upon herself the other, thereby assuming the
guardianship over him during the specified time. She takes his earnings
as a compensation, so far as they will go, for his damage and expense to
community, and as an important element in his punishment. She becomes
his guardian for the purpose of so educating him that, on going out, he
shall live an upright, harmless life.
What rights remain to the imprisoned?
There is a wide range, a long list of these, which the State does not
pretend to cut off or interfere with, such as the right to suitable
food, clothing, lodging, ventilation, drainage, care in sickness or
infirmity: in a word, to what will tend to corporeal vigor; the right to
means for mental, moral and religious culture, or what will tend to the
development in him of true manhood. If this is not so, which right is
cut off or curtailed? and where is the law that does it?
What duties does the State take upon herself in thus imprisoning?
These are of two classes, one relating particularly to herself, and the
other to the imprisoned.
Duty to herself is done, 1st, in protecting society from the crimes of
the imprisoned, which she does by imprisoning; 2nd, in keeping the
criminal diligently at work, thereby obtaining pecuniary compensation,
so far as can be, for her trouble and expense on his account; 3d, in
using all feasible efforts for rubbing off the rust of sin, washing away
the corruption of iniquity, found in those taken in charge, and making
of them true men,--good, industrious, honest, upright citizens.
The latter part is of the highest moment, far exceeding all
considerations of mere dollars and cents, drawing as much real manhood
as possible from the material put in her hands. If she takes one who is
dangerous to society, and works in him an entire reform, she
accomplishes a work in comparison with which gold and silver will weigh
but little. Making men is the high mission of the prison, and the State
can not be regarded as having performed anything like her whole duty,
till she has used every feasible means to this great end.
The duty of the State to the prisoner is performed by securing to him
what he needs in his corporeal, mental, moral and religious departments.
If she withholds in any of these, so far she becomes delinquent towards
the imprisoned, a violator of his rights just as really as he had been a
violator of others' rights when in his wild career of sinning.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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