Ypsilanti sentinel. [volume] (Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co., Mich.) 1843-1900, 1846-05-13
THE SENTINEL.
YPSILANTi. WEDNESDAY MAY Is, 1876

~Wnoso szsDDErH MANS BLOOD By MAN SHALL
U~NoT MS BLOOD ss1Ate1k-Legislasure of
,Nirhigau.
What lamentabIe ignorance Of the principles of
Justice; what utter disregard of reason; what def
ance of truth, do the advocates of MURDER and SYM
pathysers of assassins, manifest in all their words
The following extract from the comments of the
Free Press also copied in the State Journal, on the
abolition of Capital Punishment, by the Leg stature.
.Where the rerslty Was Gcstt 1t almost inn
possible to procure convection Under the revised
CODE hesitate not to say that fewer murders will
be committed and more convictions be had, for it is
the certainty of punishment, more than its cruelty,
chat prevents criule."
Let us examine this, sentence by SENTENCE
NWhere the penalty was death. it was almost lmpos-
sibie to procure conviction. Whys Because ju-
rors were averse to the punishment! Ifso in clear
case of MURDER perjury, rank perjury is in this SEN
sentence, directly charged upon every man sw orn
to bring in verdict, not according to the punish
ment but according to the la and eridence Is evil
dence offered against man, sufficient to convince
jury that he is guilty of crime which the law calls
murder! The oath of jurymap, then, is, that he
shall say so. Is he at liberty to use his own dis
erection in the matter: be Judge of the law, and
fashion verdict according to his views OF
its Justice! What use then of any law! None
whatever But it is false, that any man thus misun
derstands his duty uryman, or if our opponents
insist the truth of their imputations, let them take
their consequence likewise; viz: that many in COM
munity are unfit to be jurymen.
fIr IL. Al II - io frr{
err murders viii be committed, and more convictions
be had Again, we ask why? The popularity of
the writer's STYLE leads to infer that more con-
victions will bc hadn because the certainty of pun
ishment, more than its cruelty prevents crime; we
suppose, however, that he has merely transferred
the position of his horse and cart and that he
to say, more convictions will take place, punish
ment, consequently will be certain, and there
fore, fewer murders committed for certainty of
punishment more than cruelty, prevents crime. But
why, we ask, will more convictions take place! And
here comes the same answer. Beca use jurymen have
heretofore, mistaken their duty: In blind ignorance
committed perjury: stood as judges of the Law, in
stead of arbiters of the guilt innocence of the prs
oner; and finding the former unjust, have delivered
the latter from its grasp, by false verdict.
Now, the writer have quoted supposes that
the law being suited to the jurymens views he will
find just verdict. Will the writer please tell us
whether he would like trust his life, lberty in
the hands of men thus perjured. or thus mislead If
jurors grant justice too tardly now, may they not
too speedily thenl
But, let US ask, is the position true that the GER
tanty of punishment than its seyerity,prevens
crime! We will grant that the certainty of any gin
en- punishment is greater deerment thanits severity;
fine of sixpence, more efectua in preventing crime,
than the severity of six years Imprisonment! Much
less is the uncertain certainty of State Prison for life
greater determent than the severity of death.
But look at the nstce of this favorite mode of pun
ishment. The victim is dead; say more!-
Think of the grave and its worms; Of oblivion, moth
ingness-to say nothing of ''that borne, whence no
traveller returns The murderer at the worst is
living; and who 'ths pleasing anxious being eer re-
sipnedr Who ever left the warm precincts of this
cheerful day,
"Nor cast one longing, lingering look behindF'
Revenge is the spirit of murder, and by SO much as
the fate of the victim erceeds that of the crmnawi
REVENGE BE GRATIFIED.
Were the murderer's death as sure as he makes his
victime, no murder would be committed, except
in those rare cases where the murderer buries himself
and victim in one grave. Make the punishment of
one any lighter than the injury done the other, and
he hastens to his revenge.
We will not consider that obtusity of intellect
which will permit any man. to class murder and the
penalty of death together, calling the one simply
murder and the other legal murder, though he
would make it even worse than the former, worthy
of an answer Like this also, is the imputation of
"spirit of revenge to the law.
Such arguments are best illustrated by the carlca-
ture wherewith the renownedThompson used to dec
crate his works on medicines; one of which repre-
scented Doctor bleeding patient and butcher cut
ting the throat of hog: with the motto "What is
the difference Doctor.' The argument of the quacks
in law, and the quacks in medicine are the same in
Logic, and have the same purpose-to deceive the
people, In this too, grieve to say they both
seem to precede much blood letting.
we are not aware that our Legislators stand above
the common frailties of men, and it may be as wei
for them take heed that they do not cause tc
adopt the language Of Macbeth.
''we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught,
Return to plague the inventors
This even handed justice
Comments the ingredients of our poisoned challce
To own lips.
Co We learned, quite recently that in the case
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