Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1843-09-29
Communications.
70 lis ExcELLEscv, CHARLES PAINE, GovEnSon
ofhe State of Vermont.

security of society from volence the furnishing COM
runity with instructive md practical standard OF
guilt, and, in connexion with these the comfort and
reformation of the criminal.
II such be the ends of punishment. as has been
shown, both from the Scriptures and from The great
masters of the law, Whence comes ii about that so
vioent prejudice has arisen ofdie against capital
punishment! Allow me in the present letter 10 an
swer this question.
Hitherto, all nges, nations and governments have
assumed the divine appointment of death Tor "iul
murder and have inflicted it without any question of
i,s Justice or cxpediency Men OF all nations chris
tan and pagan, rulers and the rlrd, have ncqicsccd
with singular unani'nty in the justice and policy of
this law. Blu, OF late this law with us, is denounced
as "bruta )" savage" murderous," &c. And the
cry is raised in the newspapers and in halls of lcris
lution, "down with the law" If this only q
temporary, political hobby on which demanonucs
were seeking to tide into Office and into f,v with the
I" dear people" for whose fare they so 'renen-
dously concerned, there would less cause OF solicit
tule BIT is no, 81, Intelligent, and good men are
rapidly (too rapidly fenr) changing Their opinions
respecting the right, of denrhpunishu,ent.
What are the views this subject producing this
change
Having noticed with the discussions OF
this great question in different sections of the country,
for few year. past, it appears TO that the prl.
dice against the existing law has arisen from the three
following sources.
lst From the lavish use and consequent abuse of
capital punishment by most governments
H. From miseoncepiion of the proper ends OF
punishment. And,
a. From n mistaken view of the state of the
world when the Jaw in Gen. 9: 6, was given
LIST. The existing pr, jndice against capital punish
ment has arisen. in part, from The iarish use and
II ,,t,
their hands, men in power, like little children, have
loved to flourish every occnsion' Had ," pun.
ishment of death been restricted by n nations to the
single crime of murder, and been left by men where
God left it, there probably would have hren no more
question about lis justice and propgicy than nbou,he
propriey of the first commandments. But rovein-
nents in their yrany, their necessile. and love Of
power. have abused this wholesome law Of God. by
applying it TO multitude of minor offences. in En-
gland in the time of Judge Blackstone. no less than
one hundred and SIXTY offences punishable will
death. In other countries Of Europe the penal code
still more sangunnry For, says Sir William, af
ter speaking of these leo eloncs of deaths Disgust,
ing H. this catalogue seem, it will afford pleasure
TO English reader and honor to the English law 10
compare it with the shocking apparatus Of ca, and
torment to be met with in the criminal codes of al
most every nation Of Europe" During the reign of
Henry the VIII 10000 persons punished by
death in England about 1900 every year Under
the iron power of RUSSIA, the penal code WIS sill
more bloody up to the time of the Empress Cahh
rine. Human blood made to flow for every Of
fence ill the court began 10 scken with horror at the
sight, when the empress l.apug from extreme to
the other, abolished ,ea,h-punishment entirely and
substituted Punishment the eternal SHOWS and des
Citations of Siberia. 1hisS however did not suffice
an after experiment punishment by ath for murder
1,l,. in, Fro
SPAN, Germany and Tusranv, their penal codes
were terribly severe; and by attaching death To mi
nor often es. they tempted men to commit murder
for the purpose of cOncralng such minor offences
In the settlement Of this country, our fathers
brought wi them some of these errois of the old
world and cngrated them upon The new government.
In most Of the original states from five to fifteen or
twenty different species OF crime were nnde pnnsha-
bic with death. In the penal code Of Vermont ndop
ted in l757-not less Than different o1tnces are
inside capitals
Such wholesale application ofcapal punishment,
as Europe exhiIs, renders i, both odous an ma
vailng. 1t but increases the number of ofiences;-
for in the WORKS of Birthstone himself, "The injured
party through compassion will often forbear prosec,l.
ton Juries through compassion, will forget their
oath, and either ncqnt the guilty mitigate the
ture of the offence and Judges through conpas.n ion
will respite one half the convicts and recon men /
them to the royal mercy. Among so many chances
of escape hencedy and hardened offender, overlook
ing the mu itute who suffer- boldly engages in some
desperate attempt to relieve his wants supply his
vices and, if unexpectedly, the hand Of justice
takes him, he deems himself pecul nry unfortunate
in falling last sacrifice II laws which long impu-
nifty had taught him TO contemn."
This wholesale. application Of capital punishment
has produced pre- udce agairs, it in on cases. 1t
,,f
minds naturally connect with capital punishment,
even for murder This severity has trained the pub
lie feeling into compassion tor a'I crrnn1s ., an we
for get to distinguish bet weei, n crime against life and
a crime ag,inst property A. the people Of France
during the revolution, in attempting to mi themselves
OF the iron yoke of popery, threw OIL christianity
with it; installing 'ha 10 he one and the same hing
with the CALLING yoke they had So long horne; sn we
in rejecting the abuses Of The divine l,w, are in dan
ger of casting of The law itself. The very arguments
which in other counties, urged against the nbu
of the law, PHI l1nhropsts urge against The Tau
itself That whrh in England, proves that mar
ought not 10 be hung for stealing toe're pence; II
this country, proves that he ought 10 be hung fol
deliberate murder.
2. second sourceef The existing prejudice ngnins,
capital punishment for mnr Ter. is doubtless, a mis-
conception Of the ends IF punishment. Al,hese ends
must he kept in mind: justice the prevention o.
crime, the safety of community and The good Of Ih'
offender. Singing Out any one end, and following
that exclusively, shnll surely mistake in our con
illusions. In The sierner Of the old world, gov
ornmenls seem TO have looked only Mt the prevcnnr
of crime and the stability Of their ,Iirones and 81
they applied the highest snnciien Of law To multi
tude of minor offences, forgetting entirely the claims
of humanity in the offender. Hence the unauhorizct
cruelty If their penal codes.
Our philanhropiss, errng on the other extreme
seem to be looking only TO the confor, anl reforma
ton of the offender and absorbed in this as 10
lose sight of justice and SAFETY and The proper
ofpreserving The innocent from guilt and hence The
unauthorized leniiy of The rev code recommended IL
our adoption. There is obviously something else Il
be cared for beside the criminal and his comfort.
There is higher concern than merely TO conrivt
how light we make the penalty of his transgres