Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1843-10-27
GERM o t 31botHfr.
FRIDAY, OCT q. 1sla.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

The subject Of capital punishment il s,ca;.-
great interest in the public mind. The lep,,,n,.,
of several States have within few wears d,..,s,
much attention 10 the subject, and very able "a.
ports have been made thereon II is also di,cn...,
at Lyceums, in public assemblies, and er,er,;r,,.
by the press. 1t is subject Of vast imDo,,n..
and should be well weighed before great ch,u,.'
are made in legislation. We therefore arc AZ
ed to contribute our mite in calling attention o III.
subject. The position which we shall at D,e.oD,
take, is this: Capital punishment should be- eo,s
ned to the single crime Of wiful murder Wa.
not satisfied with the main arguments-o, =, a,.,
some Of ihem-which are generally brouObt ,o do.
fend this position. We think they are nr,orna
and therefore weaken, rather than strengthen Tho
convictions OF mems minds that capital pun,hmer,
should be inflicted. The subject should be plaeea
on true and solid grounds, or it cannot be sustain
ed. we therefore propose TO notice first the arru
ments deduced from the declaration 10 Noah recOr.
ded in Gen. 8: g. "Whoso sheddeth mans bood
by man shall his blood be she'd" Il is maintained
that this declaration is to be regarded as univeral
statute binding the human race through N
time and never yet revoked, requiring that tbs
murderer shall be put To death. Now there is no
certainty that this passage of scripture has any r
erence TO the subject. Nay, there are the strong.
est probabilities that ii has not. Some Of the be,t
scholars assure us that the meaning commonly al.
tached TO il is entirely erroneous. The following.
taken from the Christian Examiner, Vol l4th, an
able and learned periodical, gives clearly the mean
ing Of the passage referred to:
"HhOso sheddeth mans blood, Ly man shaR Il,
blood be shed" Now, there lie good reason to SUD-
pose that human murderers are not referred TO IN
this text; but that man is here simply permitted Of
commanded to kill any beast that might occasion
the death of man. This Interpretation is con.
hrmed by the reason given for the provision name.
ly, In The image If God made he maa. The mean.
ing of mans being created in the image Of God
may be aseeriained from Gen. l. Is, the first H.
stance 10 which the phrase is used "Let US max.
man after our image, and let them hare dominion
over the fish of the sea, and the fowl Of lhe
air, and the cattle. and all the EARTH and
over every creeping thing that cTeepe;h upon i've
earth" Man then created in Gods image,
Inasmueh as God gave him power over the inf
rior animals similar to that which lie wields over
all orders of beings,-inasmuch as God made man
the lord Of this lower world as He himself is Lad
of the Universe. Now man being lord of the in.
ferior animals has no connexion with command
to kill human murderer. But it would be sun
cient reason for killing beast who occasions mans
death, and IS thereby guilty, it were Of lts,-md
jesty. The text, literally rendered, decides nothing
for the Hebrew word translated Eh0so shedddA ss
present participle, corresponding to the English
word shedding, and we have as good right 10 sup
ply the elpsis by trAGiercr as BY Nhoso OF TtOaG.
Let us now how the Interpretation that We
would propose suits the whole connexIon. God
has been giving Noah directions respecting the use
of animal food. He then proceeds 10 say "When
your lives are taken, will require at mans hand
vengeance for your blood upon the beast that oeea'
sions the death of any one Of you IL will require
the brother or the near relative OF any man whose
life is thus lost, 10 aveDge IT, Whatsoever beast &C.
casions man death by man shall his blood be she'd
for God created man in his own image,-endowed
him with authority like his oWn,-nlade him 10
have dominion over the inferior animals Inc
whole Jsassage seems to refer 10 The relation ~
which man was 10 stand with the lower orders oil
creation The superiority and authority oil man over
them have been expressly recognised IN Inc se'OHs
verse and the subject OF the destruction Of man 5
[ life by them expressly introduced in the nun Nd
let any one deem II beneath the dignity oil the u.
vine Being to issue precept for the slaughter o.
animals. who, nnocenty, in accordance with lhen
natural instinct, should destroy human lie ioI II
is a well known fact that comparatively haImT"
animals. who have once successfully attacked indn'
are thus rendered untameable, ieroc'ous, ana uan,
gerous We find also a similar command gwen :"
the Israelies Immediately after the PRONUNCIATION
of the decalogue "lf OK gore man OF wOl,a i
that they die, then the OK shall be surely s'O"e''
and his flesh shall not be eaten.
With such a clear and consistent nterPre'a''OnO
that declaration to Noah, we dare not rest any ar
gumcnt in supper, of Capital Punishment on 'n''
passage of holy writ. We prefer 10 s'anu ~
ground which cannot be readily removed ''OD4
beneath our feet. And it is marvel to US, 'n''
any person, at all acquainted with Biblical er'CsD'
should adduce this text in support OF taxing "'
life of a murderer.
We shall next glance at the argument O''N'
from Judaism.