Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/500

 PRISONS

434

PRISONS

charge of the establishment. If it be laid down as a principle that the prisoners shall be subjected to the cellular regime only as long as is judged proper by the physician who shall examine them on their admission and visit them regularly afterwards during the course of their punishment; if there be an official staff and a sufficient number of visitors to preserve the social element in each prisoner; finally if, in con- fining prisoners to their cells, due discrimination as to sex, age, and race is made, the evil results of pro- longed isolation will in large measure disappear". M Henri Joly ("Problemes de science criminelle", Paris, 1910, pp. 195, 211), who visited the central prison of Louvain on three occasions, was very favourably im- pressed by the system; he recognizes that an ex- cellent programme is being carried out : the prisoner is separated as much as possible from his fellows, and brought into contact as far as possible with society projierly so-called, with which he maintains the best relations; his only regrets are that there are so many prisoners and that conditional liberations are granted so rarely.

Proportional and progressive reductions of the term of incarceration are granted. The rule in force reduces a sentence of 6 months to 4 months and 23 days; a year to 9 months and 12 days; 3 years to 2 years, 1 month, and S days; 5 years to 3 years, 5 months, and 10 days; 10 years to 6 years, 3 months, and 9 days; 20 3-ears to 9 years, 9 months, and 12 days. The legislature not ha\-ing pro%idfd cases in which the original sentence is between 20 and 25 years, a conditional liberation is granted to the prisoner when he would have been definitely liberated if he had been granted a reduction of 10-12 of the years over 20. Ex[)erience shows that a mathemat- ical reduction, uniform in every case, ignoring the principle of the individualization of the penalty, does not meet the necessity of repression. The only result of the system is to weaken the effect of prison restraint and to liberate much too rapidly criminals unworthy of the favour (Prins, op. cit., 523 sqq.).

The prisons are divided into two classes: central prisons, two in number, Louvain and Ghent; second- ary prisons, numbering twenty-seven. The central prison of Louvain, and all the secondary prisons, except two which are to be changed, are arranged with a view to complete separation niglit and day. The central prison of Ghent, erected towards the close of the eighteenth century, has eight di\isions, only one of which has been arranged for celhdar imprison- ment by day and night; the others contain only night cells, the prisoners being assembled during the day. The central prisons receive only male convicts. There is no central prison for women, on account of the few crimes committed by women; they are in- carcerated in the secondary prisons. The central prison of Louvain receives those condemned to hard labour and seclusion, as well as prisoners sentenced to correctional imprisonment for more than five years. There is a special quarter in the central prison at Ghent for youthful convicts. The inmates are isolated in cells at night and work in common during the day. The law allows the courts and tri- bunals in sentencing an individual under the age of eighteen years completed to orfler him to remain at the disposal of the Government after the end of his term till he attains his majority: such pensons are also sent to Ghent. However, those who on account of their youth, the moral conditions in which they are situ- ated, or their previous conduct, do not deserve to be subjected to the more rigid discipline of the special quarters till their majority are sent to a philan- thropic school. The seconflary prisons, which with one exception have two distinct sections, one for men and one for women, are principally prisons for punish- ment; accused persons are detained there; they con-

fain, moreover, different classes of inmates, such as those detained oidy temporarily, beggars and vaga- bonds awaiting transference to the mendicity in- stitutions.

The central administration of the prisons is under the control of the minister of justice. Connected with the central administration is the inspection de- partment, divided into three sections: the first in- cludes everything, except the accounting and con- struction departments; the second is engaged on the accounts; the third attends to buildings, improve- ments, and repairs. Besides the supervision of the inspectors, which embraces the prisons as a whole, there is permanent local supervision which, in each establishment, is confided to a commission, called the administrative commission. The members of this body, numbering three, six, or nine, according to the importance of the prison, are appointed by the king and selected preferably from the ranks of the clergy, physicians, manufacturers or merchants, engineers or architects. The royal procurator of the arrondissemeni, the burgomaster of the commune, and the military auditor, if there be one in the locality, are ex officio members. The commission participates in the work of reforming the lives of the condemned by visiting the cells as often as possible. It advises pardons and conditional liberation, and is consulted on the suggestions made by the governor. It is not a mere organ of control and con.sulting council; it liarticijiates in the working of the establishment, at least in the cases provided for by law, such as grant- ing holidays to the staff, approving contracts, reg- ulating the conditions relating to the work of the jirisoners. The members of the staff of the central prison of Louvain may be taken as an example: a governor, two assistant governors, three Catholic chaplains, two Protestant chaplains, a Jewish chap- lain, two teachers, two doctors, a tlruggist, two ac- countants, two store-keepers, five clerks, a head- warder, fifty guards, five assistant warders, and four inspectors of work. As the central prison of Louvain contains about 600 ordinary cells, there are about twelve prisoners for each warder. The inspectors of work are employed exclusively to give professional instruction to the prisoners, and to supervise the work of the principal trades, .shoemaking, tailoring etc., as well as the repairing of the furniture and buildings. In five gaols where the small number of female in- mates requires only one wardress, the latter is a lay person. In all the others the supervision of the female prisoners is confined to nuns.

The duty of the chajjlains consists in presiding at religious exercises, and fulfilling the obligations of their ministry; religious instruction, administration of the sacraments, assistance to the dying. They go to the cells of their co-religionists unless the latter decline to receive them. The exercise of Catholic worship includes Mass and Benediction and also a moral and religious instruction on Sundays and feast days in the prison chapel. In the more important gaols a spiritual retreat is given every year by an outside clergyman. Attendance at religious ex- ercises is optional. Cuche remarks quite correctly that "for adults as for children, experience proves that religion is the best method of inculcating moral- ity". This incontestable truth has been admitted by every prison e\-pert in the neighbouring countries. Krohne declares that it is only by means of i-eligion that we can hope through punishment to reforni the criminal, which is the princiiial ol)ject of imiirison- ment. Kravts, in the "llandbuch d'lloltzendorff ", gives an excellent refutation of the objection drawn from the liberty of conscience of the culprit. "Be- sides the moral influence of religion there is," adds Cuche, "the Divine service with its ceremonies, a fact often forgotten. In a prison, especially if it is cellular, assistance at Divine worship and singing