The Press. — London, England, 1856-08-23 00:00:00

808 ragged beggar•woman, or the shining wares of a goldsmith's shop—why, then, at least, he will find things going right badly with him. Here we must close our extracts ; and we heartily desire that Heins poems were well translated by some adept in English verse. The minor poems of Schiller have been ably rendered by Sir E. Lytton, and we could desire that his brilliant pen were exercised on Heine's poems. Three Papers on Capital Punishment. By Edward Webster, A. H. Dymond, and Henry Mayhew, Esqrs. London : Office of the Society for Promoting the Amendment of the Law. Tux Society for Promoting the Amendment of the Law has published three Pagers on Capital Punishment—the first by Mr. Web ster ; the second by Mr. Dymond ; the third by Mr. Mayhew. Of these papers the one by Mr Dymond appears to us the most valuable. We take advantage of the facts it supplies to lay before our readers the main points of the argument on this surely not unimportant subject. The question is one peculiarly calling for unprejudiced judgment, and fortunately it is of that practical kind to be resolved to a con siderable extent by the evidence of figures and the exercise of reason. Sentimental con siderations, on which stress is sometimes laid, have in reality little to do with it. We have no further concern with them than as they affect the question whether the law should not be a teacher to the people in proclaiming the principle of the inviolable sanctity of life. Further than this we would not allow the sentiment of humanity any place in the dis cussion of the question. Nor, on the other hand, is any force to be allowed to that sentiment of revenge which in sists that punishments should be retaliatory. Without speculating too curiously on the causes of crime, and the large amount of it that is due to vicious disposition or to faults of early training, we must admit that our criminal population—apart from the punish. ment inflicted by the law—are the most unfor tunate part of the community. It is surely a Christian principle that we should extend to them as much pity and mercy as are consis tent with care for the safety of society. The real broad point to be argued is, whether the punishment of death does tend to prevent murder more than any punishment that could be substituted for it. If it is more efficacious than any substitute that could be found, it ought in our judgment to stand ; if it be less so, it ought to be changed for the more efficient penalty. But it is to he ob served that as by this punishment innocent persons and families may be, and often are, irremediably injured by unjust executions, the balance of good to bo derived from it by society should be clear and unquestionable to counteract what is certainly a heavy evil. The statement of Sir Fitzroy Kelly, that in the course of the present century not less than fifty innocent persons have been put to death, should weigh in the scale against the continuance of this punishment, if the balance be in other respects equal. The first objection to the argument that the penalty of death is the most detersive of all punishment, is the fact that all the murders which are committed are committed in the face of it. Plainly it does net deter those who commit the crime. But does it deter persons who but for its existence would commit the crime ? Mr. Dymond is of opinion " that the " deterring effects of all punishments are over " estimated." We doubt whether this is gene rally true as regards offences against property ; bee we are inclined to think it is emphatically true of the crime most repugnant to humanity —murder. Murder may be broadly divided into three slams of eases. 1.. Murders in which the perpetrators are reckless of detection. Under this head must be classed the shocking case of Bousfield, rafter destroying his wife and children, rten vo te e d e- f o r ffi cm ce tl i t t e nd hou g s a c ve n i n ii te s te e c lf te in d io w c a i l i l s ce to d d t; oclaring hie oiclig. The case of Westroq 1, THE PRESS, is of a like kind, and many others will occur to the reader's mind. 11. Murders committed in a moment of un governable passion, or through frenzied im pulse, or in the heat of collision. Under this head come such cases as that of Corrigan, who stabbed his wife, no ono could say why; of Murdock, who killed his gaoler while strug gling to escape : and Andrew Bracken, who was tried at Liverpool last Tuesday, and sen tenced to death. 111. Murders which are deliberately planned, and executed with so much care as to show that the perpetrator believed himself perfectly secure from conviction. Of this kind were the crimes of Palmer, of Dove, and, we think we may add, of Celestina Sumner. The question is, on which of these class of cases can the penalty of death exercise a de tersive influence. Not on the first, for the penalty is braved ; not on the second, for the penalty is not thought of; not on the third, for it is assumed that the penalty will be evaded. What effect the abolition of the penalty might have must in part be matter of con jecture; but we are not left without very cogent facts to guide our judgment. Previous to 1832 cattle-stealing, forgery, and some other crimes, were punishable with death. When the penalty was abolished, those crimes did not increase. The commitments for five years, before and after the abolition of the death penalty, are given by Mr. Dymond : 5 years 5 years CRIMES. ending ending 1811. 183 G. Cattlaateallng Horse-stealing Sheep stealing Larceny to value of a in a dwelling house Forgery, except of wills and powers of attorn. 812 360 Total 3,50J 3,642 Sacrilege, robbery, and !arson ceased to be capital in the years 1835.0-7, and the commit ments for terms of five years were : CRUM. I years ending 1838. 5 years ending 1811. Sacrilege Robbery Arson 2,288 1,804 This shows an aggregate decrease in favour of the abolition of no less than 548 committals ; and that, too, in the face of the well-known fact that the amount of unprosecuted offences, when the law was capital, passed all coin pntatton. Criminal statistics supply us with another test. By taking the committals for different kinds of crimes during the six years ending 1854, it is found that while those crimes for which the penalty of death was abolished had declined, that crime, murder, for which the penalty of death remained, had increased : Committals. Burglary: 3 years ending.. 1851 • • 1 ' 785 decrease, 404 3 years ending.. :854 .. 1.381 House- I 3 years endin.. 1851 .. 1.941 decrease, 286 breakg:l 3 years ending.. 1851 .. 1,655 Forgery: 3 years ending.. :831 526 decrease, 13 „ 3 years ending.. 1854 .. 513 Total deo. 7J3 Murder: 3 years ending.. 1551 .. 210 1 increase, 12 „ 3 years ending.. 1854 .. 2:24 Thus we have an aggregate reduction of 703 committals on the non-capital crimes, and an increase of twelve com mittals on the capital crime. Taking periods of seven years, we find that the number of murders has steadily in creased : No. of committals for murder. 7 years ending 1840 T years ending 1847 4 )8 7 years ending 1854 5OB This evidence does not positively prove that other punishment than the punishment of death would be quite as effectual as that to deter from the crime of murder. But it does supply the strongest analogical evidence in favour of such conclusion that the mind can well conceive. The only demonstrative evidence we can have must be derived from actual experience of the number of murders in the same conn try under systems of capital and of non-capital punishment. Of this positive evidence the amount is scanty, yet as far as it goes conclu sive : The account given by Sir James Macintosh of the expe riment he tried in Bombay is well known, and equally satis• factory. In Belgium. too, there WAR, during the thirty-five years ending 1N:44, a di,ponitinu on the part of the Executive to administer the law with clemency. In a pretty regular gradation capital punishments and murders decreased, SATURDAY, until during the last five years no executions took place and during this period there were but twenty murders In 18:15, however, the Government returned to the practice of executing murderers. During the next five years there were tour executions, but murders rose from twenty to thirtyoue or fifty-five per cent. More recent and equally satisfactory evidence has been obtained from the United States. From a speech made by J. A. Andrew, Esq , an eminent barrister, before a committee of the Massaehusett's Legis lature, we learn that "in Alabama the punishment of death was abolished some years ago. Its re-establishment is not called for, and therefore the expe►iment may be assumed to work well. In the State of Michigan, too, the experi ment has succeeded. The Secretary-of State for Michigan remarks, 'the effect, we think, is salutary. It has product d a greater certainty of conviction, and consequently of relief to the community, besides lessening the number of aggra vated offences.' At tho time of the passing of the law abolishing capital punishment in Rhode Island, there were pending before the Court of Providence County not less than six indictments for murder. Since its passing there has not beets more than one indictment for murder in this State, though some years have elapsed. In the State of Maine no execution has taken place for twenty years, nor is its infliction ever likely to be permitted." One very important branch of the argument remains. The most eminent legists agree, that to deter from crime the character of the punishment is of less importance than its certainty Thus, l3eccaria, in the words of Mr. Mayhew,— . . Proved that mild and certain punishments not only tend to increase the popular respect for the law, hut are likewise far more effectual as deterrents than enactments of an opposite character. Perhaps the strongest argument against the death-penalty is, that it wants, and must want, this element of certainty, through the reluc tance of juries to convict of capital crime where either there is the faintest possibility of innocence, or where their pity is strongly moved towards the criminal. The opinions of several eminent living judges on this point are decisive : APPENDIX TO LORDS' REPORT. Mr. Baron Alderson : It is a bad thing to have verdicts continually given in the teeth of the law and the evidence. Mr. Justice Wightman : There can be little doubt but that secondary punishment may be made so severe as to be a sufficient substitute for the punishment of death, pro vided such secondary punishment is invariably and in flexibly carried out; but whatever the substituted punish ment may be, it must be fi xed and certain, leaving no discretion to be exercised by the judge who passes sentence. Mr. Justice Coltman: I um disposed to think that im prisonment for life, without hope of any remission of the sentence (unless the innocence of the accused should be made to appear), might be substituted without inconve nience for capital punishment. Many guilty persons now escape who would then be convicted ; and, though the punishment has little to excite apprehension in comparison with that of death to the majority of persons, I do not think that the apprehension of death operates much on the mind of a man who is meditating a great crime ; he is generally, I conceive, under the dominion of some over powering passion, which leads and enables him to set all consequences at defiance. Mr. Justice Perrin : I am convinced that in many [mur der] cases when juries have either acquitted or not agieed in a verdict, the apprehension of taking away life, where a mistake might by any possibility be made, has been the cause, and that if the punishment had been short of death convictions would have taken place. The evidence of statistics is stronger than these opinions ; for, while it is found that the number of convictions to committals ranges above seventy and eighty per cent. for such crimes as burglary and forgery, the number of convictions to committals for murder is only about twenty per cent. We again extract from Mr. Dymond : ... - - Takiirg the criminal law returns for the six years ending with 1834, we have, under the head Committed, 432 ; At ani , En— Convicted, 90; Executed, 52. Thus the proportion of convictions to committals was bat 2013 i per cent.; and the executions as compared with these convictions were but 571 per cent., whilst we have for the same period, under the head BURCLAIIY— Propotion of.convlctions to committals "0115 percent. HOUSEIIitEAKING Prop )rtion of convictions to comtnittals 831 per cent. FORGERY— Proportion of convictions to committals 701 per cent. If m.we startling proof he needed of the evil attendant upon the present state of things, it would be found in the fact that the proportion of convictions is gradually becom ing less as time advances, and this, ton, in the face of a most undeniable addition to those appliances which enable justice to overtake guilt. During the 7 years 1 . Convictions. Committals. ending 1840 J 125 to 455 •or 27'17 per cent. " 1447 130 to 494 or 231 per cent. " 154 113 to 50$ or 22'24 per cent. whilst for the last three years of the above periud they have only averaged l 9•8 percent. From these facts we may fairly concl►udle that the penalty of death is far too uncertain in its operation to exercise that detersive influenco