LIVING DOWN THE PAST

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 82, 31 December 1920, Page 6

LIVING DOWN THE PAST

« MURDERERS WHO HAVE REFORMED The two murderers who became churchwardens, as mentioned in a sermon by tho Bishop of i/oudon, are by no menus isolated instances of convict) who have made good. Some astonishing examples of this were given to a "Daily Chronicle" representative. by an official of the Church Anny Prisoners' Aid Society, though the name? of the persons concerned were necessarily not disclosed. "Only the other day," said the official, "I was taking tea with a murderer, a man who is not only highly respected in t.lio community, but for whom I have a great admiration myself. I know a man who is a reprieved murderer, and ha? been a church official for years. "The fact of tho matter, is that murderers are generally not life-long criminals in the accepted sense of the word. Once they have__come out of the prison after reprieve, and are treated sympathetically, they rarely lapse. One mau who murdered his wife I know very well. He is in very comfortable circumstances working in an industrial concern, and has quite lived down his past. "Another man who murdered his sweetheart is in business for himself, and doing well. He has been happily married for years. One has only to lorall (ho fact that at Prebendary Carlile's golden wedding one of the gifts was contributed to by five reprieved murderers and eighteen other ex-convicts. "Organisations to help the man coming out of prison find it harder to deal with other nlassos of men than murderers. Forgers, for instance, are a class of criminal to themselves. Swindlers and forgers are much more likely to lapse again, but it is singular what can lie done for men who have lived a life of crime. "Take the case of an ex-cracksman with whom I ain acquainted. He lived in prison for 30 years, mainly for charges of housebreaking. But it is never too late to mend, and to-day that man is liv-

ing as a respectable citizen. Ho is working as an artisan and is happily married. He is so pleased with the work which the society has done for liim that whenever he is to meet one of the officials ho always brings a bunch of (lower? as a tokVn of his appreciation. "Very often one can tell instinctively the men who are going to turn out all right and those who are liable; to go wrong. Often it is a question of deal-, ing with a man sympathetically, and finding him a job, that nppeals to him. One man we found eleven "jobs for in one wepk, and hit the one in the end. Ho is still doing that job and is happy. He wns a burglar. "Last year 80 penal' servitude men were taken on by the society for assistance, and 70 were found jobs. Host of tlirso are doing well, and will probably bo respected members of society to the onS o*i their days."