The Twin Hells: A Thrilling Narrative of Life in the Kansas and Missouri PenitentiariesReynolds, John N. (John Newton)
History
The Twin Hells: A Thrilling Narrative of Life in the Kansas and Missouri Penitentiaries
Reynolds, John N. (John Newton)
Prisons -- Kansas; Prisons -- Missouri
In the Iowa prison at Ft. Madison the convicts are taught in the
evening, after the work of the day is over. In the Kansas prison,
instruction is given Sunday afternoon. These schools are accomplishing
great good. The chief object of imprisonment should be reformation.
Ignorance and reformation do not affiliate. Some will argue that if
prisoners are educated and treated so humanely they will have a desire
to return to the prison, in fact, make it their home. Experience
teaches us that, treat a human being as a prince, and deprive him of his
liberty, and the greatest burden of life is placed upon him, and he is
rendered a pitiable object of abject misery. There is no punishment to
which a human being can be subjected which it is possible to endure,
that is more to be dreaded than confinement. Those long, weary, lonely
hours that the prisoner spends in his cell are laden with the greatest
of all continuous sorrows. There is but little danger of surfeiting him
with kindness and advantages, so long as he is deprived of his freedom.
If there is any hope for the reformation of the vicious and depraved, no
better place can be found to commence that reformation than while he is
an inmate of the prison. While there, he is shut out from the society
of his wicked companions; he is not subjected to the same temptations
in prison as on the outside. Save being deprived of his freedom, he
is placed in the most favorable position for reformation that it is
possible for one to occupy. If he is not reformed here it is not likely
he ever will be. It is to the highest interest of the State that these
opportunities should be improved. Every effort should be put forth to
make these men better while they are in prison. They are worth saving.
It must not be forgotten that one of the essential features in a
thorough reformation of a man, is to drive away the mists of ignorance
by which he is surrounded. Other things being equal, he is the better
prepared to wage successfully life's warfare, who is educated. He will
be better able to resist the temptations which he will meet when his
days of bondage are over. Yes, by all means, let every prison have its
school. It is of the greatest importance to the prisoner, likewise to
the State. As I was passing through these cell-houses, reading the
names of the convicts, placed above the cell door, I came to one which
contained four brothers. Five brothers were convicted of robbery and
sent to the prison, but a short time ago one of them was pardoned, and
the four now remain. The liberated one was on a visit to his brothers
while I was at the prison. Reader, is it not a sad thought that these
four young men, brothers, should spend ten of the best years of their
lives in a prison? Surely the way of the transgressor is hard.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account