Wednesday 27 April 2016

Wednesday, April 27, 2016 -

Punished by the Prison Warden

by Ryan Rowland
Published: Mar 20, 2016
Words: 18,210
Category: romance, judicial
Orientation: M/F
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OPENING EXTRACT
Logically, the territory of Westsylvania should have become one of the United States. And it would have but for the stubborn nature of its citizens who refused to relinquish their newly-gained independence and join with the other former British colonies. Somewhat isolated by terrain in the Allegheny Mountains, it still called itself a 'state', but in the original sense of the word as an independent nation, unlike those which completely surrounded it. In 1840, it had renamed its capital city to Luxemburg (dropping the 'o') in honor of that similar-sized landlocked European country. But though proud of its sovereign status, it functioned almost as if it was one of its U.S. neighbors, and even used the same currency. Residents freely crossed its open borders to and from neighboring states, and its culture was very similar except in one curious detail.

Many of the original settlers in the area had belonged to a religious sect that held firmly to the belief that physical punishment was necessary to cleanse the soul from sin. And while the old faith was virtually extinct, a strong belief in corporal punishment remained in the secular traditions of most residents. While it had lost favor in other areas, it thrived in Westsylvania as the accepted way to deal with rebellion against authority in both the public and private sectors. Parents were encouraged to discipline, but not abuse their children, order was maintained in schools, and minor infractions of the law were dealt with primarily by inflicting a bit of pain upon the posteriors of offenders. And courts had upheld the right of business owners to require their employees to submit to it as a condition of employment. A firm hand, hairbrush, or similar implement was often used in domestic situations, while the paddle, strap and cane were employed for official procedures. The horsewhip and cat o' nine tails had been used in earlier days, and a few whipping posts were preserved on courthouse lawns as reminders of that past. But during the early twentieth century, public floggings had been mostly abandoned. Lesser offenses were now punished behind closed doors, usually on the buttocks rather than the backs of offenders, and incarceration was used for more serious crimes. However, within the state's jails and prisons, corporal punishment was still used to maintain discipline and impose penance for crimes. Judges often ordered that prisoners receive periodic corporal punishment as part of their sentences. A few attempts had been made to abolish such measures as 'cruel and unusual punishment', a concept shared with the U.S. But the Westsylvanian High Court had rejected those arguments and ruled that a moderate corporal punishment that caused no permanent injury was not excessively cruel, and in Westsylvania, it certainly was not unusual.

---oOo---

Having lived all her life in Westsylvania, Samantha Moore was certainly no stranger to corporal punishment. It was ingrained into the local culture, and submitting to it was a natural part of life.