Judge Lessons for Petty Criminals
A series of court cases reveals the harsh realities and local color of Seattle's judicial system.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Parker B. Powers, who broke into the Seattle Electric Light Works, and attempted to chart the darkness by firing a revolver through it, and who was formally indicted for burglary, withdrew his plea of not guilty, and entered a plea of guilty. His attorney, John Metcalfe, Esq., made a statement to the Court, urging the prisoner's previous good character and that the defendant was under the influence of drink. Powers was sentenced to two years at hard labor in the Territorial Penitentiary. George Hill (alias Jack Hardy) plead guilty to selling liquor to Indians. He stood up to receive his sentence. 'Have you any legal reason why sentence should not be passed upon you, at this time,' asked the Judge. 'None at all, your honor,' replied Hill; 'and if you will permit me, I would like to make a statement. I am guilty, and would like to be sentenced to about six months in the penitentiary.' Hill gave three reasons: 'First, I am sick, and while in prison I will have an opportunity to get well; second, I have violated the law, and deserve the punishment, and third, if I get that sentence I will get out in the Spring, when I can go to work again, and be a gentleman.' The Judge remarked that it would probably be more punishment not to imprison him at all, but after consideration, gave him four months in the United States Penitentiary.
“If I get that sentence I will get out in the Spring, when I can go to work again, and be a gentleman.”
These sentencing remarks offer an intimate, albeit tragic, glimpse into how Seattle handled public intoxication and petty crime in the late 19th century, with the judge acting as both arbiter of the law and a moral advisor to those trapped in cycles of poverty and alcoholism.
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