The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1843-10-04
From the Burlington Free Press.
THE ENDS OF PUNISHMENT.

10 HIsEXcELLENcY, CHARLES PAINE, Gov
ERNoR of the State Of Vermont.
DEAR SIR: In a former paper, noticed
the recent, general movement Of the pub
lie mind toward the abolition of capital
punishment. and glanced at some of the
evidences Of a sad relaxation of criminal
law. These evidences were found in the
tone OF leading newspapers; in the unwil
lingness of Courts and Juries to convict of
capital crimes; in the difficulty of bring
ing public swindlers TO justice; and in the
very great facility, with which criminals
sentenced TO Imprisonment for life,are par
doped out, after an average of about four
or five years confinement.
1t appears to me that this tendency to
relaxation and the various feelings going
with it, arise from popular misconcep-
ton of the ENDS of punishment. or these
ends there are confeSscdly several. Bv
looking too exclusively upon any one of
these, and so forminga theory, we are al
most seen TO be misled. 1t is found on en-
animation that the best legal authorities
have ever conceded with the Inspired STAN
dard, IN respect to the ends to be attained
by punishment. These are, chiefly the
following:
L. The prevention Of crime and the
consequent security of the community.
Punishment is not necessarily vindictive.
1t is inflicted not TO give pain to the crim>
inal, but to restrain HIM from inflicting It
on others, and that the community may
learn the character of crime and be pre-
served from IFS commission, and that the
profiigate may be terrified and the limo
cent instructed and warned, On this ground
punishment, even severe punishment is an
absolute necessity. Crime is so great an
evil, that in the view of both God and men
the proper tenor against 1t cannot other.
wise be inspired. To prevent crime, there's
fore is the chief end of punishment. This
is the form. if we mistake not, in which
this subject is uniformly presented in the
Scriptures. Expressly are we told that the
'sword of the magistrate, and laws inflict-
ing penal suffering, are intended 70 be
terror to evil doors and praise to them that
do WELL" Rom. ID: and Ace Whoever
looks at the law in Gen. 0: 6, prescribing
that the murderer shall be punished with
death, and at the circumstances connected
with its enactment. will see that prevention
of murder was its chief end, nay, the only
end alluded to. 1t was Gods purpose to
set up barrier, which had not before ex-
listed, against the cruelty and violence of
mems passions-to hedge in and restrain
their malice by the highest penalties which
man is capable of bearing on earth. In
the antedeuyian world, the milder course
had been chosen, but in vain. Crime was
heaped upon crims, until -'the earth was
filled with violence" Now to prevent
murder and secure society from violence.
cling death as the awful penalty against the
murderer. And who will rise up and say
that God has misjudged the case, and that
his wisdom has mistaken the most efficient
means of preventing crime?
That the prevention Of crime. and the
consequent security of society is the first
object Of criminal jurisprudence, has ever
been held, believe, by the abIest masters I
of the Law. Thus Blackstone, Book 4th, /
p. Sth says, "As to the end, or final cause
of human punishments-1his is not by
way of atonement, or expiation for the (
crime committed that must be left to
the Just determination of the Supreme Be- /
ing; but as precautIon against future Of /
fences of the same kind. This is effected /
three ways; either by the amendment Of
the offender himself. for which purposes !
all corporal punishments, fines. and tempo |
rary imprisonments are inflicted; or by de- I
terring others by the dread of his exam-
pie from offending in the like way, 'ut poe !
ma. las Tully expresses iD ad paucos metus !
ad omnes, pervenIat. or lastly, by deprI- /
wing the party injuring, of the power to do
future mischief,-which is effected by eth I
err putting him TO death or by condemning
him to perpetual confinement, slavery or
exile. The same one end of preventing
future crimes, is endeavored 10 be 'ansRer-
I'd by each of these three species of pun
shment. The public gains equal security
whether the offender himself be amended
,y wholesome correction, or whether he
De disabled from doing any farther harm;
md if the penalty fails of both these eff.
ects, as it may do, still, the terror of his
example remains as warning to other Cit
zens." ! hus the first object of punish
nent and that to which all others are sub
ordinate, is to secure the community from
injury by lettering the unprinciPled and
wicked from the commission of crime,
through dread of punishment.
2. A second important end OF punish>
nent is to furnish standard by which TO
stimate the guilt and enormity of crime.
from early childhood, we get our most dis
met and influential conceptions of tbs mo> I
al character of certain actiegs. from the
'enaIties the law attachssfo them. Thus
murder by duelling >dirkiDg, is the same
ct. and involvesfhe same degree of abso-
ute crimiG'aiity in New England and in
New .lrleans;-but il is notorious that So