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

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 :