Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1943 )

Texas Prison 8ystem
Suraau 04 Rsoorda and Identification
Huntsville, Tvxas
Attentionr Mr. J. C. Roberts
Eaar Sira Opinion No. O-5721
Ret Insana Prison Inmates.
'Aa have carefully considered your requecrt for an opinion
of this department upon the question of ocnnputing time and over-time
credits of those convict.8 who have been adjudged insane and omitted
to a state hospital for the insane. Ye quote in part from your letter
aa followsr
"Aa custodian of the records of the inmates of
the Taxas Prison System. I am endeavoring to canply
with the provisioas of ths recent oQlmPutation law
oontainsd in S. B. 239 made effective as of May 22, 1943.
"In aotting up the individual records in ac-
cordance with this law, I find that this l?ureeu still
carries on its records. many inmates rho were at
various times adjudged insane by the Walker Co&Ay
courts and OOnu&tted to atate institution8 for the
insane, particularly the Rusk Stats Hospital. I am
aware of the fact th8t we shall give eaoh such in-
mate credit for any and all aaanutstion of tima and
overtlmr credits earned to and including the date
of removal from the penitentiary, however the ques-
tion ha8 arisen aa to what the inmate would be en-.
titled to after leaving prison and while being oon-
fined to the Asylum.
"I should like very much to have your opinion
a8 to whether thaae inmates are entitled to the ten-
efits of the oaarmutatlon of time aa preaoribed by
law, Or should they be aleared of our records entire-
ly, or just how they should be truatsd."
We have found no Texas rtatutes upon the topic of whether
or not the tima a oonvlot spends in a stats hospital na stated in your
request is to be counted BI tiae served on hia prison ssntsncs. m
have likswiae bean unable to locate any judicial authority in Texas
Ten* Pri#OB system, page 2 O-5721
upon this rubject. In fact, our rearoh ha8 di~olo~sd but trro cams
whenin the oourt has disousssd the question of ahether or not the
the whioh a oonriaf, after oonrlati~ and crmmifinent to a penal in-
8titution, .spmda in a stats hospital is to be credited on his smtence.
In the oam of Stat0 of Minnesota v. J. Ii. Jorgenson, 62 A.L.R., p.
244, it ns held that where a pereon while rening a sentenaa in a
oounty jail I8 duly oamittod to 8 etato horpital for the intane and
there ooafimd. thm tima MB cn hir Bentease rhilg ao confined In
the latkr inrtituticn. The court pointed out however that a Mime-
sota statntr rpoifioally provided that L prlroaw serving time in a
state prison, rhc is adjudged ln11ane and committed to l etats insane
lrylum, ahall have the time he ir confined in thm latter counted as
part of tha term of his aentmbe. &me Tens haa no rimilar statute
wa do act think thir case can be sited l8 an authority for the propc-
sitiw that the time l pnt in an itwane arylum rhould be counted as
part of the wntenoe.
In the case of State ‘I. Bouillstte, MS La. 48. 111 So.
491, the oourt held that the timm a prlroner was confined in the
priron hospital almuld be aounted an part of hir time in jail. We
lik@wiae do not believe this oaae ir any authority upon the subject
under ooaridsratlon sinoe our &ate inlana l8ylum6 mm not under
primon suprvi~ionn.
Some inferenae to the solution of thin quartion oan be
ascertained fran certain rtatuter and decl#ions upon the inaane and
the punishment of orlminala.
Article 2 of the Rnal Code prorider:
*Ths objeot of punlrlwat ia to ruppresa criw
and reform the offondw.’
Artiola 34 of the Anal Code in part roadat
“. . . . No person rho beoomr inrme after he
ir found guilty rhll be punished while in ruoh oondi-
tion.”
Artiolsr 925 and 926 of Vwnon’a Code of Criminal Pro00 -
dure rewpeatively pmvid*r
YJpon the trial of an irrue of inranity, if the
dafandant ia found to be inrano, all firthor prooeedinge
in the eaaa against him shall b *n#pended’@il ha be-
*me. mm.”
*If the defendant beoomsa sane, ha @hall M brought
befor, the 00w-t in nhioh ha uaa aonvioted or before the
matrid Court in the Counw in whiah the defendant 16
locatmd at the time he is alleged to have beOOm~UUIO; and,
. -
a jury shall be impan.;.d in the Court before which
su?h d.fe=mdSnt is brought to try the issue of his
srnity; wd, if h. is found to be ssv., th. convic-
tion shall be enforced nsainat him as if th. pro-
acedings had nwcr keen suspended."
If the purposn E? our criminal cod. is in part to r.fosys
the offender. csrtainly this purpos. would not bs reached by punishing
a person who is insane; efforts to reform xucb a pwson would in most
!.nstanoes be fuutll.. Also (IS indicated by Artiol. 54 abows quoted, it
appears to have bean the intention a0nny.d ther.by that laws. permns
should not tm subj.ct to any punirhwnt while la such a afate. A8
shown by the abcr. quotation6 from the Cod. of fklminal Prooedure, a
person oh.0 IH rJ!lty of an offans. aad ie found to be Inrum, all pro-
ceedings as kc :h. ariM) should be suspended. After such a p.rscn has
tagaimd hlr sanlly, h. is returned to anww th. orlminal charges so
nad. against n.i*.
:‘h. statutes n. have allowing oomiats ovw time for good
conduct a~. nracted "in order to anaouragr prison disciplia.." S..
~rtirtl. 6164 !a, Vernon’s Civil 6tatut.S et T.%sS.
-!I I? 7s~. Jur., p. 815, via find the fallowing lanyagar
"4 psrsnn who has be.n s.nteno.d to impriso~.nt
In th. pcoitantiary or a jail can s.rv. hia s.nt.ncs
only by aatunl incarawation within Its mlls; no othar
kjnd of' custody tilt answr or di8bharg. such lnprison-
msnt. . . .- (Citing SartU V. Stats, 10 Grim. kpp.
66:. 38 Am. Hop. 649.)
There are som. exoeptions to the rule of law announced in
the for.go!ng quot&ion, suah as ar. found in Article 776, Vernon*s
Cod. of h;minnl Procedure, as amended in 1951, and Art1010 6203,
Flovlssd Civil Statutes, but thay have no application to th. qu.stion
we are hers acnsidorfng.
?is ar. of th. orinlon that the foregoing discussion dis-
Cosss a l.gisirt+vc policy in ?.xsa of not subjsc+Ang insan. persons
to or;minal pun'.shment and that the time sp.nt by an insane in a atat.
hospital ahcu!d not bc counted cn his senteno. as a criminal.
't 1s fJrth.r our opinion that the individual records of
tb.ss ccnvIctr rho nra in inaan. institutions should not be aomplstely
roGr*d for aos.c of these individuals may at scsso Puturs dats rsgain
his snnity. If such a contingency should arise, th. reoords would bs
needed tn ordnr to have a complete history of eaoh cas., as such a
person would bs retunsd to th. propsr penal institution to complots
th. sentence tslnporarily suspandsd by his Insanity.
The ZongolnC, aonaluriom pmoluded my dieoumion of
other matterr oontained in your rrquelt.
YOU-l wrytruly
GRlllERILOF TERM
ATTGRNRY
Ry r/bmt 6. Kooh
Robort 0. Kooh
Arrimtant
ROK:dbr+o
APPROVED JAN. 26, 1944
s/r,lwor Rsllorr
ATTORNEY WNISRALOF I%%8
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