Justice Weekly

 

For 26 years from 1946 until 1972, Justice Weekly numbered among the tabloid press published in Toronto, Canada. While included in the sensational press, Justice Weekly was quite different, truly unique and never replaced. (Click on the pic above to read clearly front and back cover.)

Corporal Punishment was included somewhere in each issue – sometimes it was buried in an article or two, but frequently in the letters section. Mostly the focus was domestic, but not exclusively.  For example, there were numerous letters about the Toronto Women’s Reformatory, Andrew Mercer.

Unfortunately, little remains of this publication. At one time I owned two issues, but they got lost. I doubt anyone, anywhere has any issues remaining and that is for a number of reasons.  First off, it would be difficult to store something like this for such a long period and secondly, the paper it was printed on was of exceptionally poor quality - so poor, that it seemed to disintegrate as you were reading it.

Fortunately, the editor did publish several Collections of letters to Justice Weekly and they were in booklet format on quality paper.  Below is an example of just one such letter included in one of those collections:

 

January 7, 1967

Hamilton, Ont.

The Editor, “Justice Weekly.”

Dear Sir:

We hear of the vast amount of juvenile and teenage crime by boys and girls today. Most of these boys and girls come from good homes and should know better.

I was just like the boys and girls are today, but a number of years ago I was “fortunate” to be sent to a prison for a certain crime which I committed and it was while at this prison that I learnt right from wrong.

At the age of 21 I was sentenced to a lengthy term: 18 months to be exact, in the Mercer Reformatory for Women in Toronto.

This was in the 1940s and at the time when several riots had occurred at the Mercer and the superintendent and staff were determined that no more rioting would occur. To stop this, every inmate upon admittance was given a list of the rules and regulations of the institution and told that at the slightest infraction of these rules they would be disciplined by loss of privileges, etc.

We were also told that for serious offences we would be severely dealt with.

After several months at this institution, I found myself listening to other inmates and not abiding by the rules. On several occasions other girls and I were warned by the matrons and the superintendent to mend our ways.

This went on for several weeks and one day the supt. called all the inmates together and told us in no uncertain words that if we continued to violate the rules, they would have no alternative, but to use the strap.

We all thought this a great joke and continued or our merry way of rule violations.

One day shortly after this, we all decided to go on a sit-down strike and refused to work, but this time we were given 2 days solitary and a warning that the strap awaited us if we did not cooperate. About a month later 3 other girls plus I decided to gang up on the matron and stage a brawl, but we only got to the stage of breaking up some furniture before we were overpowered by 4 matrons and put in solitary confinement.

As this happened at 8 pm, we spent the night in solitary and were paraded before the supt. the next morning.  The supt. was very angry and told us that she had given us a fair warning and that she was going to put a stop to our nonsense, as she called it, with a taste of the strap.

We were taken back to our cells, but this time we were put in separate cells and told we would be punished later.  In about an hour we were taken up to the third floor of the building and put in separate cells again.

We had been strapped in public school, so we sort of thought it a joke to get the strap at our age, but we soon found out different, to our sorrow.

After a short wait, two matrons appeared at our cells and unlocking the first door they took “Mary S,” a 19-year-old inmate, with them down the hall and into another cell area!

After a short time, we other three girls could hear Mary screaming and crying and we wondered why she was crying so loudly.

Soon these two matrons appeared with Mary and put her back in the cell. This time they took “Wendy L,” a 20-year-old with them and after a short time we heard the sound of the strap and Wendy's cries and screams.

In a few minutes they brought Wendy, back and this time they took me with them to this room where there was a number of beds where certain of the inmates slept.

I was hardly inside the room when one of the matrons said to me:  “So you're one of our smart-alecs who likes to not behave. Well, we are going to teach you a lesson.”

With this, a senior matron appeared, and she was holding a regulation school strap in her hand and she said to me: “When you feel this on your backside, you will wish you had behaved yourself.”

With this I said, “Oh no you don't.” But to my sorrow these matrons grabbed me and turned me over the end of one of the beds and before I realized it, the senior matron pulled my dress up to my arms and fastened it. Then taking hold of my panties or bloomers, as they were, she pulled them down to my feet.

Picking up the strap the senior matron said: “OK, the strapping will commence,” and commence it did.  Raising the strap over her shoulder she brought it down on my bare bottom with such terrific force I screamed at the top of my voice.

This time she told me to think about my conduct and again laid the strap across my left buttock.  Two strokes was all I could take without crying, so I started to scream and cry.  The more I cried, the harder this matron laid the strap on.

After every stroke she would say to me: “Are you going to be a good girl, and do as you are told?”

Again, the strap landed on my left buttock and at each stroke I kicked my legs, cried and screamed.

As each stroke landed one of the matrons did the counting and as the strapping continued, she would say, stroke one, stroke two and so on.

After I had had 5 strokes on my left buttock, the senior matron changed position and began to strap my right cheek.  As the strap fell on its target my bare backside throbbed with pain and my cries and screams were heard by the other 3 girls. However, only one was listening as the other 2 were still crying.

As the strapping continued, I cried, screamed and promised to reform, and never to disobey or violate the rules again.  After 3 more strokes, the matron laid the strap down and told the two matrons to let me up.

Turning to me she said:  “Now, young lady, will you behave yourself?”

“Yes, ma'am,” I replied.

“OK,” said the senior matron, “Pull up your pants!” which I was mighty glad to do.

I was taken back to my cell and the other girl in the next cell to me was taken to this room by the two matrons.  She, too, returned sobbing like a six-year-old.  Our backsides ached and stung for days, but we were taught a well-deserved lesson which has lasted us till this day.

We four girls finished serving our time, or paying our debt to society as they call it, and then went to our respective homes.

On our departure from the Mercer, we four vowed never to return again, but instead to walk the straight and narrow for the strapping sure had its effect on us.

We have since married and are all raising our families and, believe it or not, we hand out discipline, bare bottom style, for our kids when they need it.

I only hope that some dad and mother who reads this letter will know what to do next time their son or daughter rebels at parental authority.

Sincerely,

“A.E.”