Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1929, Page 246

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TÍMARIT ÞJOÐRÆKNISFBLAGS ISLENDINGA
Appeal of Saskatchewan took the matter
into consideration and made recommen-
dation to the Mfinister of Justice as to his
apparent insanity whioh ‘has now been ac-
ted upon.
I am now advised that this Olson is
now in the keeping of the Penitentiary at
Prince Alibert, sentence having been com-
mitted to life imprisonment and that it is
the opinion of high merlical auhorities
that he has the mentality of a child pf
eiiglh to twelve years of age, and that he is
harmless and that he will remain in the
penitentiary until such a time as he shows
any signs of becoming violent, which is
believed to te remote, and I am advised
that the situation of Ingólfur Ingólfsson
is similar to that of Olson. Even though
an examination were to be made of Ingólf-
ur Ingólfsson I doubt very much whether
he could be sent to a mental hospital, that
is, if tlhe same conclusions were reached
of him as with the case of Olson.
In my investigation I ascertained that
Ingólfur Ingól'fsson would not desire to
be placed in a mental hospital unless hc
thought that he would obtain a parole
sooner than he would do if he remained
at the penitentiary. If such were no;
the case I am certain that Ingólfur Ing-
ólfsson would rather be in the peniten-
tiary than in a mental hospital. I also
ascertained from the authorities that one
of the main reasons why it would not be
advisable to have Ingólfur Ingólfsson ex-
amined by mental specialists was that íf
such specialists would certify that Ingólfur
Ingólfsson was not sound mentally and
should be forthwith confined in a mental
hospital, and the superintendent of tihat
hospital carne to the condusion that Ing-
ólfur Ingólfsson was uncurable, all hopes
of a parole for him would be shattered
and he would rernain there until his death.
If suoh examination revealed the neces-
sity of sending Ingólfur Ingólfsson to a
mental hospital and such examination was
made at the investigation of the Icelandic
National Patriotic League, regulations re-
quire the prisoner to be sent to a menta!
hospital in the province from which he
comes, in this case Al'berta, which is verv
ill-equipped with mental hospitals and tlie
maintainence of the prisoner, which is
$1.00 per day, would have to be paid by
the province of Alberta, or as is the rule
when he has dependents, and as the So-
ciety would be the investigator of such
action the government would naturally
infer that they would be prepared to meet
the cost o.f sudh maintainence, but if they
do not do so and dropped the matter then
and there like a hot potato, such maintain-
ance would fall on the government which
would tend to place the Society in a verv
compromising and uncomfortable posi-
tion towards the government.
I consider that it would be more advis-
able to ascertain from tjhe Minister of
Justice at Ottawa, Ontario, the grounds
upon whioh the Gov.-General in Coun-
cil giranted tihe commutation of sentence to
life imprisonment whioh information I
understand is not at hand because this
might reveal that the commutation was
granted on account of his mental incapa-
city and if such were the case it is certain
tihat a medical examination of the prisoner
as 'held prior to the granting of t'he com-
mutaion whioh would be very valuable to
prove that the man was insane at the time
that he committed the deed and which in my
opinion would obviate the necessity at this
stage of examing him as to his mentality.
If the Society desires to have Ingólfur
Ingólfsson examined as to his sanity in
view of tlhe findings that I have arrived
at I would empatically state that such pro-
cedure would be taken not only for the wel-
fare and we'll being of Ing. Ingólfsson but
to satisfy beyond a question of doubt the
vanity of the Icelandic people in America,
which I would consider to be a very im-
proper motive in tliis case, and I would not
reconnnend that it be done.
The reasons for suoh reconimendation
will be discernible to you after I have gone
into the question of the probabilities of his
obtaining parole.
I have asoertained that Ingólfur Ingólfs-