New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1846-03-16
C,r;,.t Punishment.

Tho Co,-;er 4. Enquirer had an article on Mon
day in reply to cars Saturday on 'he oapei run
;shnept question. which might have been the sub
;ec, of extended comment but for our absence in
New Hampshire a, the time Now we can but
briefly allude 10 it
The Courier contends with apparent earnes'"e''
thu, no prisoner al bar ever is or oueo' ~
y;.,ed ube there remains possibility OF his inno
Low, is totally different from MS IL
v.y,rry. no, we who is guilty OF the alleged
div of saving that he could net approve Inc
.,aI ;naictiop of Death until convinced OF the IN
fabiIity of human judgment. Now we all kno"
that human testimony is falibie as wen as human
Judgment, ana that chains OF testimony, both posi-
tive and circums,antial which seemed SO strong as
TO preclude doubt; Including the confessions oil the
cupri,.} have afterward proved !allacous and deu'
siye. Now jury is no, allowed TO DE composed OF
eye.witnesses OF the offence charged and We do
no, see tina, the Courier has at all shaken our po-
yition that the gull, OF cupr is very rarely ever
proved beyond the possibility of error. If the deed
be. brought home 10 him the possibility of insanity
is never wholly removed, and never can be. Our
sugges tion tina, the very fact of mans committing
murder gives some color Of plausiblliiy to the ny
pothe,is Of his insanity is perverted by the Courier
TO its own end but we have 60 space 10 waste on
such manipulations And, unless the Courier is In
tent ON mere verbal and technical disnctlons-ior
which we have neither time nor taste-we cannot
ace that more is requisite this head If ii be not
fact that men daily convicted OF crimes on the
strength of evidence which would not be deemed
sufi cient if the penalty Of Death were TO follow,
then we frankly admit that we know nothing
whatever Of jurisprudence. If the Courier mean
only to contend that this ought TO be otherwise, It's
difference is not with US but with the human race
AS to Wyatt's insanity utterly dscredited by a
majority of the jurors instructed 10 give him the
benefit of every doubt, and Polly Bodines legal
innocence though once found guilty. but allowed
new trial because the Judge who tried her gave the
Jury common sense direction, which has been held
forbidden by English Common Law, while ex-
pressly approvedb by the French we do not see that
more need be saiE. Furong's abb in the case OF
r. P Robinson, il it convinced the Jury, must have
had peculiar effect on their minds in view OF the
;ncontrovertible evidence of the Ratchet cloak, ETC.
Bo, enough.
The Courier chooses TO express doubts of the cor
rectness OF our statement that ourtfths OF the Ju.
rors on the recent trial of Wyatt who were not OBJ
jectcd to on other grounds were set aside on the
ground OF their admitted hostility Capital Punish
ment-the precise form of the question is mmateria
herej Courtesy would seem TO require that the
Courier should have applied to the gentleman as
ISOLATED in the defence of Wyatt whose office is
within stones throw OF its own before hazarding
this imputation Most certainly, we had our nfor
nation from one who had abundant opportunity 10
be well informed, though the precise proportion Of
those objected to on the ground indicated may not
have been automatically ascertained and remem
bered by him. Whether the number so set aside
was exactly forty eight or not the material facts, that
many were SO SET aside and that those who tried
and did not convict Wyatt all of the other Sort
remain unmoved
That the defence Of moral insanity sustained in
this case tends destroy all security for convictions
in cases Of audacous and passionate killing, is obvi-
GUS no matter what are believe OF its validity And
whether we would punish in the Courier's sense
possibly insane man slayer or not we should never
hesitate to place him securely in solitary con6ne-
ment, SC that he should commit no more murders