The action of the Alabama State Board of Corrections in demoting a Jewish warden at a state prison, Martin I. Wiman, has created speculation that one of the factors in the decision is that the warden is Jewish, the Birmingham News asserted editorially.
The demotion was approved by a three to two decision and the Birmingham daily said in its editorial that “shock waves are being felt throughout the state–and right into the Governor’s office.”
The daily declared that the “major shocker” was the fact that a convict’s testimony “should carry so much weight in evaluating a professional penologist’s administrative policies.” It called Warden Wiman “one of the most highly regarded professionals in the Alamaba prison system, to which Corrections Commissioner Frank Lee’s vigorous defense of Wiman before the board attests.”
The charges against the warden included allegations by Chaplain R. S. Watson that the warden was not a religious man, a Judgment obviously based on difference in religious belief and practice between the two men. In testimony before the Corrections Board, Chaplain Watson admitted that there had been sharp differences between him and the warden, who denied all the charges.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
