1841one morning in August, a ragged and unkempt young man was brought into the court. With his sharp eyes, John can see at a glance that this is another drunkard and a troublemaker in public places. At that time, in Massachusetts law, "drinking and making trouble" was only a misdemeanor. Generally speaking, the defendant can be sentenced to "probation" for one year by paying bail. But if the defendant has no money to pay bail, there is no doubt that only a cold prison is waiting for him. After spending a year in a "big prison school" where thieves, pickpockets, rapists and fraudsters gather, even 1 0,000% of the pure youth do not perform well in school in nine cases out of ten, and become a professional criminal full of resentment towards society and hostility to the law. John Augustus has seen many such examples in this Court. When he looked at the young man who was brought in, there was a flicker of fear and anxiety in his eyes, and a pity came to him.
So John walked up to the young man and talked to him in a low voice. The drunk told him with guilt that he was a machine repairman and a good locksmith. One girlfriend was unmarried, but she was pregnant. He doesn't want to go to prison, he doesn't want to lose his job, and he doesn't want his child to visit his father in prison as soon as he is born ... If he can stay away from prison, he will promise to give up drinking, work hard and turn over a new leaf ... However, his current confusion is that he has no money to pay bail. John is full of sympathy for the young man. He thought that there was still hope for the young man, so he resolutely expressed his willingness to be his guarantor and released him on bail.
John Augustus's enthusiasm deeply touched the judge. Moreover, in Boston at that time, there were too many prisoners who committed such petty crimes. On the one hand, the prison is full of people, on the other hand, as just said, once in prison, good people will go bad. The prison judicial system that has never been improved in the world is making more enemies for itself in vain. How to solve this thorny judicial problem? The judge had a brainwave and agreed to John's shoemaker's request. He ordered the defendant to postpone the trial for three weeks and come back to court three weeks later, when the judge will make a final judgment according to the specific circumstances.
Shoemakers and judges had an epiphany, which finally created a brand-new thinking in the history of American law-a new situation of combining punishment with education.
Three weeks later, John's shoemaker personally accompanied the defendant back to court. At this time, the once unkempt drunkard is said to have turned into a radiant young man. John's shoemaker has only studied for two years, but it is said that he used his little culture to write a one-page written report and submitted it to the judge, which read: He-John Augustus, swear by God, proves that this young man has worked hard for three weeks and has taken care of the lonely old people in the community in his spare time. The film police in the youth block and the pastor of the church also provided testimony. Their testimony is basically the same as what John's shoemaker said. The judge was overjoyed and announced the release of the defendant on the spot, and fined the defendant 1 cent symbolically. The young man hugged John's shoemaker tightly and cried with joy. It is said that from then on, this man gave up drinking all his life and became a law-abiding and hardworking good citizen.
The love of a cobbler profoundly changed the fate of a person's life, and also profoundly affected the civilized process of the American judicial system. In the following 17 years, John shoemaker worked as a "probation guarantor" for more than 2000 people. He makes friends with these poor helpless criminals who occasionally make mistakes, helps them find jobs, encourages them to turn over a new leaf, and takes care of their families and neighbors. Upon the expiration of probation, shoemaker John always accompanied the defendant to court in person and always submitted a report to the judge in person describing the defendant's performance during probation. Judges usually believe his report, and defendants who behave well usually follow the precedent-they are released after a symbolic fine of 1 cent. Soon, Massachusetts officially passed a law to set up a "probation department" under the state department of justice to promote this "benevolence" new criminal justice system. Within a few years, more than 30 states in the United States followed the example of Massachusetts and set up "probation departments", while John Augustus, a shoemaker, inadvertently became the "father of probation" in the United States.
Boston once again set an "America's first". Little people have once again made great contributions to the legal cause. In the United States today, it is said that nearly 60% of the 5.35 million criminals in the country are educated and reformed through probation. In addition to "probation", American judicial circles have also developed a series of humanitarian judicial methods, such as parole, compensation, compulsory treatment, social reintegration education, juvenile training camps, and community reform of prisoners. Whenever we look back on all this progress, people can't help thinking of poor old Boston shoemaker-John Augustus with great respect.