BACK TO PRISON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20496, 22 February 1930, Page 14

BACK TO PRISON.

MAN WHO ESCAPED.

EXTRADITION FROM SYDNEY.

THREE YEARS' DETENTION.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] CHFJSTCHURCH, Friday.

' The carrier, Roy Raymond Witting, aged 25, who was recently brought back from Sydney to face a charge of escaping from Paparua Prison threo years ago, appeared for sentence in the Supreme Court to-day boforo Mr. Justico Adams. Witting, after his escape, readied Australia, married, saved money and built up a paying carrier's business. "It would be a most mischievous example," said His Honor, " if in any such case a prisoner were dealt with in such a way as to be a premium on escapes, that is if he were allowed to escape any part of the penalty." Accused was then sentenced lo three years' reformative detention.

Mr. F. D. Sargent, who appeared for accused, said tho case was one .of an extraordinary character. Witting had served two months before his escape. He had reformed and rehabilitated himself since. Ho had married and his wife was now friendless in Australia. It must not be taken that it followed, bocauso a man escaped imprisonment, that he was going to escape tne punishment meted out. Witting had not been sentenced to hard labour. The Prisons Board could allow tho prisoner at large at any time. Tho three years' term which Wilting would have served expired last night. Counsel held that under the Prisons Act a sentence would run even if tho prisoner were not in prison.

" This man has certainly lived the lifo of a decent citizen since his escape," said Mr. A. W. Brown, for the Crown. " The sentence against him has expired, so the only real count against him is his escapo. Ho stole certain clothing to exchango for his prison garb, but that practically is a part of the offence of escaping. However, he certainly got out of a good long term of detention. Before that sentence his offences were progressively bad, and they culminated with a serious case of breaking, entering and theft. The sentence evidently pulled him round." Referring to the previous convictions, Mr. Sargent said they were all of a type which mainly arose out of drunkenness, bad language, disorderly behaviour and resisting the police. Accused had escaped when on parole. The door was not shut on him as strictly as on a man serving hard labour. " You cannot blame tho bird that flies out when the door of tho cage is open," said counsel. " There is another angle to that," said His Honor. " When the ' bird ' is a reasoning human being who breaks his word of honour, the statute evidently regards it as very serious. The maximum penalty is seven years. Escaping is a very serious ofience, obviously. When a man breaks his word to escape, he must not bo allowed the simple course of carrying on in his own name, which in itself would go a long way to divert any suspicion.

" I think justice requires him to be put back again for a period at least equal to that which he evaded by escaping. He will be kept in reformative detention for a period not exceeding three years, therefore, the two months he served prior to his escape will be in the nature of additional penalty."