James Monroe was the Governor of Virginia at the time of this letter, serving in that capacity from 1799-1802.
Part of a collection of autograph letters by the Signers of the Declaration of Independence; see collection-level record for MA 554.1-60 for more information.
Enclosing a "pamphlet respecting crimes and punishments, containing an account of the gaol & penitentiary house of Philadelphia &c. which I have procured with some difficulty : It was printed in 1793, and is now scarce. Altho' the mode of punishing offences adopted lately in Pennsylvania may be considered as a great improvement on the former sanguinary Code, yet the business is by no means arrived at the perfection that may be attained. I do not think our punishments are duly proportioned to the offences. In the first Act (which I wrote) for the reformation of the penal laws of this State, Murder, Burglary, Arson and Treason were still punishable with death; but nothing except Murder in the first degree, which is accurately defined, is now considered so atrocious as to merit the extermination of the offender. In our last law Rape is liable to a punishment of longer duration than Treason, which is certainly an oversight; and the crimes of slaves are visited on the Masters, for all the labor they undergo as a punishment is not greater nor their accommodations less than what in general they experience in their ordinary service. It will at all times be agreeable to me to receive your commands and on any occasion, whether of a public or private nature, I shall be gratified by your free communications."