Columbus Democrat. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 18??-18??, 1837-11-25
LEaIsLATTRE b. ALARAAIA-

radically 50 he system is wrong. what's n,
great end aud ann Of human punishment Il /
not vengcance--il IS not lelrib0iion--h Is ihi
and no more--io leffily evil doas--to deter mer
from crime. AID how Is this 10 be accomplish
ed There is one only nasaRs--certainiy Of AIDE.
quaie punishment No Penal Code can ever be
etisclual which does not utterly shut out and take
away from the offender all hope and expectation
ofescapc OF impunity aileE his gnilt has been
made manifest BY proof And what Penal Code
can ever do this which does mol or cannot Justly
graduate and apporion the punishment to the Of.
tencel None. Hence all experience proves,
that where punishment Is too sangninary and Sc
veTe9 L can never secure The requisite certainty
courts prosecutors, Witnesses. aad Jurors arc at
last but men, and their s6yeml duties and even
their oatis are not more binding or controlling
than tho instructive principles Of justice and hu-
naai,y; these are ever seeking 20 apPortion pun.
ishmeht TO crime, and where this cannot be done,
viii rather suffer the guilty 70 escape altogether
than Oiniiict upon him excessive punishment
9 la such cases toe, where tbe other means Of es-
cape Gail, the Pardoaiag powers almost always
Invoked With success. Il need hardly be remark
cd, that where The punishment is 100 Slight OF m
adequates tho' 4 may be certain, Il eau never be
elIeclual. Scruiinized by these principles we
liAd the delcct which lies at The very foSt OF our
Penal Code. Some Of our punishments aie too
sahguinary Others too slight and all mole or
less incapable Of being properly apporllonod to
various and different degrees Of guilt. Tho only
Instruments and means Of punishment known 90
our laws, arc whipping, branding, The por,. con.
iinement in our common jails and dem. among
these death is too sangunary, eyer to secure Ger.
tainty Of punishment except .or very few Of the
most airocious crimes -perhaps il may properly
be considered jr.at and suitable punishment for
the crime Of wilful and deliberate murder only.
And yet, various other offences and an inferior
grade Of that offence also, are punishable with
death BY our Law, Whipping, branding, aud tho
pillory. are punlshmcnis loo barbaroas in their
character and TOO revolving 70 the scnsibiltos Of
civilized society 10 resort 10 in any case; for mi
nor Offences at oast;i and they arc too slight in
their character as an adequate punishment for The
moro henious offences, their Duration Of pam is
too short, and tho iguoniny uitached TO them,
opcrnlcst too uncqually, to be estimated as a sub
s,aniialpar ofihc punishment, inasmuch as ig-
nomny can cause bu. little terror to u majority
Of those who are prosecuted ior infamous often
cess lnfespcctto the remaining punishment UNI
der our present system, namely, confinement in
our common jails, il becomes, in many cases. |
sbolieye,a favor rather than punishmont the
prisoner lives Ia dlencss and ease at the States
expense. And common Jail where numbers
have t0 be confined together, Is tho most com
pletc sink or moral dabasenent and corruptinr
associations, that can be imagined prisoners
body becomes cncryalcd--his heart depraved--
his feelings deutschland when no Is turned
loose he Is, in niue cases out Of ten, a walking
mass ofmoral copiagon.
Not 10 10 into greater detail, il must DO appa.
rcntto every man who has bestowed The slightest
attention on the Subject, that our present syslom
is wholly ineifcclualiu rcspocttotwo very COM
,lllon oiEenccs ,---and these two IRE both Of them
offences which most intimately concern The peace
and welfare Of society. ullude to what in some
OF ihc States ii known and distinguished as
".AIardcr in ina second degrss land /" assault
and baiisrg lrith inisnt 10 commit murder"
We hear sof honicidea ID asa.sslent parts Of The
State continually /; and YET how low convictions
for murder, and still fewer executions How is
this to DO accounted fort | can conceive Of no
other suticicntrcaso but this; most ofiheso no.
micides are murders in the second degree that
Is, hamicidrs done not upon cool and deliberate
malice, such as Is manifested by previous threats
--od gfrdges--lyipg In -posonng
concerted schemes 10 k--but such as occur
suponrccciEt quarrpls or sudden combas, where
deadly weapons ure resoftcd 10 withou, strict
and absolute necessity for their use in self do.
fence Or i'll other words homicdcs upon malice
implied bylaw. Suchis tho class oi homicides
whichirosl frequently occur III our country and
are prosecuted Ia our courts Us mnrders--n the
frst degree as mutfcT of coursc--no other dis.
s,.~
cases win not conYictin one case in every ten, as
experience proves. Why Death is TOO rgor
Gus, too awful "A punishment for q majority o
these cases. and jurics having in most instances
no alternative left butte bang or ncqut. they vii
oltentimcs acquit even when persuaded fully tina
the law demands at their hands different verdict
And tur,hcr--whcn nature reyols nt the conse
qucnce Of finding against tho prisoner, IN
when always instructed by the courts That dout
amounts 10 an acquial, how easy and how natuI
al Is Il for juries to satisfy and quiet their cor
sciences with doubts over subject 10 porplexe
md intricate as the crime Of murder, aud acquit
guilty man while they even persuade .hcmselvs
that they are acting up TO tho obligation Of the
Oaths.
In regard to the other ofencc meniione
namely, !" Assault and Battery NTH intent
COMMIT mafder' why is il thai this offence cGs
tiaues SO common--why do we hear ofsiabbins
and shootings almost daily in some part or 9TH
Of our Statcst II cannot be. justly said, ] al
aware, that the punishment denounced BY o.
law against this offence, is too severe to ensul
certainty. Mo- this objection does notlie heI
Iii II ono Of quite contrary chancter--for Il
punishment denounced against this offence, d
though il may BE- certain enough, is not adequal
The punishment Is fine and Imprisonment in Of
common joils--and reason and experience prov
that is insufficient in the terror which il inspire
prevent the offehca Where, say the courts
I,