established, into the second of which all new-comers are enrolled upon their arrival. Promotion from this grade to the first is conditioned upon the earning of fifty out of a possible fifty-four credit marks within six consecutive months, the marks being given on conduct, work and mental advancement. The loss of more than two marks in any one month, or any serious violation of the Prison rules, causes the offending convict to be reduced to the next lower grade. Second grade men may receive such letters, weekly papers and periodicals as the warden may approve, and may write letters and receive visits from their friends once a month. Members of the second grade wear suits of a plain gray color. Prisoners reduced to the third grade are deprived of almost all privileges, and are clad in suits of black and white stripes. Members of the grade must maintain a perfect record for thirty consecutive days in order to obtain promotion to the middle grade. The members of the first grade wear neat uniforms of cadet blue and enjoy certain extra privileges in regard to letters and visits, as well as such additional favors as may be considered safe to concede as a special reward for meritorious conduct. All convicts on entering the Prison receive a thorough physical and mental examination, and a variety of physical measurements is taken of every man, according to the Bertillon system, which are of such a nature as to insure his future identification. The data thus obtained are entered, together with photographs of the subject considered, upon cards which are filed for reference. In order to increase the usefulness of the Bertillon system as a means of correspondence among penal institutions, a special committee of the National Prison Association, on which the warden of the Connecticut Prison served, prepared some time. ago a bill "to establish and maintain, in connection with the department of Justice of the United States, a division to be known as the Bureau of Criminal Information." The measure provides for the collection of a large fund of detailed information concerning offenders, which shall be at the disposal of State and local authorities. In March, 1900, it was introduced in both branches of Congress, where it still rests. Since the adoption of the indeterminate sentence and parole law by the General Assembly of 1901, the warden and directors of the Prison are constituted a joint board of parole, and large discretionary authority is given them to release upon parole convicts who have served their minimum term and who, by their conduct, history, career and character, give presumptive evidence of a disposition to live an orderly life. In the rules adopted by the board of parole, it is provided that no prisoner shall be paroled unless he has been a member of the first grade for a continuous period of six months, nor shall any prisoner able to work be paroled until suitable employment has been guaranteed him by responsible parties. Every prisoner released on parole is required to report to the warden monthly, and any violation of the rules of parole renders him liable to be reimprisoned. No prisoner has been released yet under the provisions of this law, and before any considerable number can be put on parole, it will probably be necessary to appoint a special agent to secure employment for them and to assist the board. of parole in their supervision. REGULATIONS, PUNISHMENTS AND REPORTS. On entering the institution, each inmate is provided with a set of Prison rules and regulations. Men who are reported for petty violation of rules are warned in the first instance, but on successive repetitions are, according to circumstances, placed in solitary confinement, kept upon short rations, or, what they feel most keenly of all, are docked a portion of their good time allowance, which would otherwise be deducted from their term of imprisonment at the rate of sixty days per year and pro rata for sentences from one to five years, or ninety days per year and pro rata for sentences of more than five years. No officer is allowed to strike a prisoner except in self-defense. Reduction from a higher to a lower grade is also employed as a measure of discipline. Six cells for the punishment of less serious offenses are situated in a room adjoining the main cell block, and are well ventilated and fairly light. Beneath this room are six cells for solitary confinement, which have double steel doors in front, with apertures and gratings through which food may be passed to the more violent persons confined. The cells are dry and well ventilated, but are sufficiently dark and lonely to make confinement in them undesirable. Prisoners confined here are given bread and water twice a day and are visited daily by the Prison physician. In some cases the offender is required to stand with an arm chained to the wall at about the height of one's head. Nearby is a secluded cell for the punishment of especially vicious prisoners, which, by its peculiar wedge-shaped construction, precludes the possibility of unforeseen attack upon an officer by the person confined therein. An elaborate system of daily reports is kept, which gives to the warden a complete record of the condition and occupation of all the prisoners. NUMBER OF INMATES AND COST OF SUPPORT. Not including the hospital and insane departments, the Prison contains at present a total of five hundred and seventy-six cells for general use. The statistics of the Prison for the last two years are as follows: Number of inmates October 1, 1900 and 1901 Totals present Discharged by expiration of sentence Paroled by Board of Pardons Died from phthisis Died from other causes Died in insane ward Executed by hanging Pardoned by President of United States Discharged by Secretary of the Navy Remaining in prison September 30, 1901 and 1902 Totals Highest number present Lowest number present 472 471 Average number present 490 500 Number of insane convicts, September 30, 1901 and 1902 26 26 326 321 Number in Third Grade ΙΟ 15 Number of female prisoners present September 30..... 17 14 The amounts paid by the State for the maintenance of the Prison have been: For the year ending September 30, 1901 $41,916.08 19,403.67 These sums include the expenses of the Directors, the services of examiners in lunacy, etc., in addition to the amounts necessary to make good the deficiency in the earnings of the Prison to support its inmates. VISITORS. Under the regulations visitors from the general public are admitted to the Prison on Wednesdays at the discretion of the warden, but on the other days only on a written permit from the warden or one of the directors. Each prisoner in the first grade is allowed to receive one visit a fortnight, and in the second grade one visit a month, on Fridays, from relatives or friends, in the presence and hearing of an officer. CONNECTICUT PRISON ASSOCIATION, HARTFORD. FRANCIS WAYLAND, New Haven, President. JOHN C. TAYLOR, Hartford, Secretary and Agent. Since the date of its incorporation in 1879, this Association has devoted its efforts to assisting prisoners at the time of their discharge to reach their families or friends and to secure honest employment. The Society is supported in part by private contributions and donations, and receives, also, an annual appropriation from the State of three thousand dollars, of which twenty-seven hundred dollars is designated for the relief of discharged prisoners and three hundred dollars on account of agent's salary. A committee from the Society visits the Prison every month and there interviews each prisoner who is to be discharged during the month succeeding, giving him an opportunity to discuss his plans for the future and to avail himself of the Association's help. It is the stated design of the Association to stand by each man with material assistance, until he can have honest, self-supporting employment, and in the event of his getting out of employment to assist him again to get other work. Also, as an incentive to good behavior, it is agreed with each man that if he lives an upright, industrious life, steps will be taken to secure a passage of a resolution by the Legislature restoring him to his forfeited rights as a citizen (after having given evidence of his reform by continuing in the right path, for a year or more). As soon as prisoners begin to be released on parole under the provisions of the recent indeterminate sentence and parole law, it is expected that the Association will find an ever increasing field of effort in their behalf, working in conjunction with a special agent of the Prison, who may be appointed for this purpose. Up to the present time, the work of the Association has been chiefly for discharged prisoners, and opportunity of this sort will necessarily continue until the last of the determinate sentenced prisoners is gone. Brief statistics of the Association's work for the last two years are as follows: |