Convicts

One of our inquisitive young men while out looking at the convicts work; prompted by curiosity or sympathy enquired of one of them what crime he had committed to bring himself under the condemnation of the law; to which the man in the stripes replied: "I stole a grist mill, and when I went back after the dam and pond they caught me"

Middle Ga. Argus - Week of April 27, 1882

Submitted by Don Bankston

 

OUR CONVICTS

It is revolting to read the legislative committee reports in regard to the conditions of the convict camps in the State.  It seems that they are all in the worst possible condition.

The convicts are actually being starved.  They are not allowed but one suit of ragged clothes, no socks at all, and shoes insufficient to protect the feet. A shirt made from whole cloth is an unheard of luxury.   They are most cruelly punished in all sorts of ways that man's inhumanity to man can suggest.

They are fed on bran, and meat is as scarce with them as pork sausages on the streets of Jerusalem.

It is a shame and an intolerable disgrace upon Georgia.   For the sake of humanity something must be don't to relieve the intense suffering of these unfortunates.

Such brutality to humans seems impossible to exist in our State, yet such reports are given, and nothing is done to ameliorate the conditions.

The whole convict system is a farce and a travesty upon good government, and should be abolished forthwith and the convicts put to work on the roads.

Jackson Argus - December 13, 1895

Submitted by Don Bankston