Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1843-10-06
COMMUNICATIONS.
GROUNDS OF THE PREJUDICE AGAINST
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

principles OF Justice, should have for its ends. he
prevention OF CRIME the security Of society from
violence The furnishing community with an in
structive and practical standard of guilt, and in
connection with these, the comfort and relorma.
| ton OF the criminal.
II such be the ends of punishment, as has been
! shown, both from the scriptures, aud from the
great masters Of the law, Thence comes il about
that so violent prejudice has arisen Of late against
capital punishment? Allow me in the present
letter TO answer this question.
Hitherto, oil ages, nations and governments have
assumed the divine appointment of death for
w,lfui murder and have inflicted ii without any
question OF It's justice OF expediency. Men of all
nations, christian aud pagan, rulers and ruled,
| have acquiesced with singular unanimily in the
justice aud policy Of this law. But Of late this law
with us, is denounced as "brutal," Savage"
"murderous," &c. And the cry is raised in Tie
newspapers and in the halls Of legislation, down
with the law" If This were only u temporary
| political hobby, on which drmagogues were seek
| ing to ride into Office aud into favor with the
"dear people" Tor whose welfare they are SO
| tremendously concerned, there would he less
cause oil sOlicude. But il IL not so. Intelligent
aud good men are rapidly Zoo rapidly fear,)
changing their Opinions respecting the righteous
ness OF acknowledgement. What the views on
! tins subject producing this change?
Having noticed with some the discussions
OF This great question IN different sections of the
country Tor lew years last, II appears to me that
! tie prejudice against the existing law, has arisen
| from The three following sources.
/ lsi From the lavish use aud consequent abuse
! OF capital punlshulento by most governments.
III. From Esconcepou oil the proper ends
| OF punishment. And,
| 81. From mistaken view OF the state of the
world when the law in Gen. 81 6, was given.
LIST. The existing prejudice against capital pun.
Ishnent has NJ lsen, III part from The tdutsh and
abuse of this ordinance. "lIaying a sword put i'll
TO their hands, IN power, like little children,
hive loved 10 flourish II on every occasion.'-
| Had the punishment of death been restricted by
! all nations to The single crime Of murder, and
been left by man where God left it, there probably
would have been no more question about its JUS
tlce aud rroprie,y THAI about the proprety Of the
| first commandments But government in their
tyranny their necessities aud love OF power, have
abused this wholesome law Of God, by applying
| it to multitude Of minor offences. In England
| in the lime OF VIM. Blackstone, no less thun one
! hundred and siriy Offences were punishable with
/ death. In other countries OF Europe the penal
| code was still more sanguinary tor, says Sir
| William, after speaking of these l60 felones of
| death; Disgusting us this catalogue may seem,
1t will afford pleasure TO All English reader and
| honor 10 the English law TO compare il with The
shocking apparatus OF death and torment to be
net with in The criminal codes of almost eyery
nation OF Europe" During tie reign of Henry
| the VIII. 10000 persons were punished by dealt,
III England or about 1000 every year. Under the
IRON power OF Russia, the penal code WINS still
more bloody, up To the time OF the Empress Cath.
arine. Human bood was mae To flow for every
| offence, till the court began TO sckeu with horror
AT the sight, when The Empress eaping from one
extreme TO the other, abolished death punishment
entirely and substituted punishment 10 the eternal
SHOWS and desolalions of Siberia. This however
did not suffice, aud after experiment. punishment
by death for murder and few other crimes was
restored. So in France, Spain, Germany and
Tuscany, their penal codes were terribly severe;
and by attaching death 10 minor offences, they
tempted men TO commit murder, for the purpose
of conceang such minor Offences. . -..,..,, a..
In the settlement OF this country, orr faihers
brought with them some OF these errors rof, The
old world and engraed them upon the new
governments. In most of the original states from
five 10 fifteen twenty different species of crime
were made punishable with DEATH In the penal
code of Vermont, adopted in l767--not less Than
ten different offences are made capitals
Such Wholesale application of capital punish
'nent, as Europe exhibits, renders it both odious
aud unavdiling. 1t but increases the number of
offences ;-ior in the words Of Blackstone him
sell" The injured party, through compassion
VIII oiien forbear pr osecuton; Jurles through
compassion, will forget their ouths aud either ac-
quit The guilty or mitigate the nature of The of.
fence; and judges through mpassion will res
piie one hat the cOnvicts and recommend them
to the royal mercy. Among SO many chances of
escape, the needy and hardened offender, over
in some desperate attempt to relieve his wants or
supply his vices; and, if unexpectedly, the hand
OF Justice overtakes him, he deems himself pecu-
liarly unfol lunute in falling at last sacrifice TO
laws which long mpunny has taught him 10 con-
TENN
This wholesale application of capital punish
inent, has produced a pre- udce against it in all
cases. IL has begolten deep sentiment of injus-
tice, which our minds naturally connect with CAP
ilal punishment even for murder. This severity
has trained tn public feeling into compassion for
all criminals, and we forget to distinguish between
a crime against life and crime against property
As the people of France, during the Revolution,
in attempting TO rid themselves OF the iron yoke
of popery-threw of christianity with it; mistak-
ing that TO be one and the same thing with the
Calling yoke they had so long horne; so we, in
rejecting the abuses of the divine law, arc in dan
ger OF casting off The law itself The very argu-
ments which, in other countries, are urged against
the abuses OF the law, our phanthropiss urge
against the law ITSELF That which, in England,
proves TINT a man ought not 10 be hung for steal
ing fto'tse pence; in THIS country, proves that he
ought not TO be hung for deliberate murder.
=. second source OF the existing prejudice
against capital punishment for murder is doubt
less, Il nlisconcepiion Of the end Of punishmtnL--
All these ends must be Kept in mind justice, the
prevention of crime, The safety of community and
the good of The offender. Singing out any one
end, and following that exclusively, we shall sure
y mistake in our conclusions. In the sterner u
ges of the old world, governments seemed to have
looked only at the prevention of crime and the
stability OF their thrones; und 50 they applied the
highest saclions of law TO minor Offences forget
ting entirely the claims of humanity in The Offend
er. Hence the unauthorized cruelty Of their penal
codes.
Our philanthropists, erring on the other ex-
ireme, seem to be looking only to the comfort and
reformation of the offender, and are so absorbed
in this, as to lose sight of justice and safety and
the proper means of preserving the innocent from
guilt, and hence the unauthorized leny Of the
new code recommended TO our adoption. There
is obviously something else to be cared for beside
| the criminal and his comfort. There is higher
concern.ihan merely to coutrive how light we can
make The penalty OF his iransgresson. He has
cast behind his back every consideration that Tor