Bob Mount: Should we bring back the chain gangs?

A week or so ago, an entire page of this newspaper was devoted to instances of criminal activity in Auburn, Opelika and other areas of Lee County. Many involved burglary, thievery, and apparently, dope-dealing. Reports of rape and child abuse appear regularly.

As a youngster, where I grew up, perpetrators of such crimes represented a miniscule segment of the population and, if caught and convicted, were sentenced to ‘hard labor,’ which usually meant serving on chain gangs. I vividly recall seeing chain gangs working on roadsides. An officer holding a shotgun would be guarding the gang. I remember thinking to myself I would never, ever do anything that would result in my being sentenced to working on a chain gang.

Former governor Fob James Jr. reinstituted the chain gang system in Alabama during his tenure, resulting in complaints from criminal coddlers that the system constituted ‘cruel and unusual punishment.’ Unfortunately for the citizens, and fortunately for the criminals, the system was abandoned.

I fail to understand why service on a chain gang is more cruel, in the immediate sense, or ultimately, than burglary, robbery, thievery, rape, child abuse, or drug dealing.

Cruel is defined as “willfully causing pain or distress to others.” Don’t the aforementioned cause their victims to experience either pain, distress or both? I submit they do and challenge anyone who believes otherwise to submit reasons why they do not.

Are the acts of such criminals unusual? Of course they are, and God help us if they become committed so frequently by so many that they become considered usual.

Maybe it’s because of my ripe old age and having grown up in places that were relatively crime-free that I feel the way I do about punishing criminals. The way we go about it nowadays reminds me of a comment made by an old jailbird who had spent most of his adult life behind bars. He was being interviewed by a TV reporter who asked him, “What would you do if they released you today?” He replied, “I’d throw a brick through a Zippy Mart window so I could get back in.” I bet my bottom dollar he never served on a chain gang.

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Thank goodness, the moistures have met. My frog pond is at full-pool for the first time in three years. I assume APC’s lakes are full, and its hydro-power plants are generating at full capacity. I hope so. My house is all-electric and my bills have been increasing steadily for quite a while.

I don’t keep a record, but if my memory serves me correctly, they are twice as high as they were two or three years ago. I assume the increase was due to the drought, requiring the company to rely heavily on its coal-powered plants to meet the needs of its consumers. Hydropower is considerably less expensive to generate electricity. I anticipate a substantial decrease in my next month’s electric bill, and if I don’t notice a decrease, I’ll drive to Lake Martin Dam to see if it’s still in place.

Bob Mount is emeritus professor of zoology and entomology at Auburn University and writes a weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News.