New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-07-25
VI The Death Penalty should be abolished

,korifr 10 take the hfe If human beng II Is uni
versally conceded that We have no night infI
vidualv TO take the life Of man except N
ease Of selfcefeuse Whence, then. did the
Goyernmcut ofthe State get the night 20 deprive
one oC life in anv other case The theory on
,rhich our civil constitutions rest j. that all the
rcwcrs o. the State are derived from the VIII
forn-essed or iuplied) Of It's constituent men,
hers The individuals who compose the com
rnuuitv II IS asserted, transfer 10 the G0vernment
such rights and powers as It Is supposed Will be
better administered by THIS agent OF the BODY
ro1tic than by individuals. But the State nas
and can have rgh:iully no power which i did
not rece1ve from lis constituents. Now these
cCrstitueuts surely could not give to the State
,Vhat they Did not themselves possess. II, then,
% : conceded by all, no man has a right except
tho IN the EXTREMIST case OF sef-deense) 10 Kill
a ,ellow-man. he cannot transfer TO the body
nolItic any right 10 do this IN any other case.
1.-The stream cannot rIse higher than the ioln-
tain
Nor. again. did the community derive this
mower over life from the concessions made to It
bv its constituents touching themselves. When
we surrendered 10 the body polite portion OF
cur rights to enable Us the better TO retain he
aggregate OF them, did we concede our title 10
life DID we glve-could we have glven-tO 81
ciety the night 10 take our life away under any
possess that right ourselves. and therefore We
could not transfer ii A man may not for any
cause kill himself without sin. He cannot,
therefore, delegate to others the night to Kill HIM
Let the crimes that he has committed be what
thew may: let the terrors of conscience be ever
so awful the infections OF sei-repr0ach be ever
so severe he NAV not without aggregatIng bis
guilt fy from his tormentoTs, by buryng himself
In the grave. Though the natural punishment OF
his SINS may seem to nm (as 1t did to CAM
greater than be can bear. though the sun may
give him 10 cheering light, and the earth NAV
look drearv 10 his eve, and every man he meets
may seem to abhor and dread hlm-though he
may feel himself to be fugitive and vagabond
he has no warrant from the Almighty Dlsposer
Of lie to escape from his sutienngs by rushing
unblddtn through the gates OF death. How,
then. could he have transferred to the body poll
tic authority 70 10 with him, or for HIN, (let his
crime he what Il may.) that which he had no au-
thoT.ty to DO with or for himself Tie could not
give to the community. any more than to an IN
diyidual, wha; he did not possess And II the
powers Of Government are (as they are SAID to he
bv ali republicans and democrats) derived from
the governed. whence did the Government get
the night to Kill any OF It's constituents for any
cause whatever Surely, ! repeat, the stream
cannot rise higher than It's source.
Here Imay be told that the right OF the State to
take the life Of the murderer Is derived from the
night, which every individual constituent has 70
defend HIN self by taking the life of his assaiant
In this connection | Will cOncede the premise,
that We NAV come at once to consider the con-
cluslon | VIII cOncede that If an individual
be attacked By another, and can save hiu-
sell only by killing the other, he may take
the life Of his assailant This, however, VIII not,
by any train of correct reasoning, lead us to the
conclusion which the advocates of the death
penalty have attempted to derive from IT. For
before society could have the right OF the lndl-
vidual, IN the case supposed 1t must be evident
that society Is IN the same predlcament as the
individual But tins Will not be pretended, be-
cause the animal TO be executed must be already
III the hands, and entirely at the disposal of the
State. Nor by putting HIM to death Will the
State protect the life OF the one he has assalled,
because that life he has already taken. Il" II Is
not TIL aftT the crime which no human power
can repair that the State SEXES the criminal and
puts him to death for the purpose of making an
example OF him, and OF holding his execution up
IN view as a terror to others-a shocking sort OF
experimenting on human nature--to kill one man
in order to reform or confirm the virtue OF an
other G. an attempt to deter from the shedding
of human blood by itself setting the example OF
the very act it iorbds." Now If this were the
probable effect OF inAicting capital punishment
| contend that Of our theory OF Government be
corTeCt,) the State could have no authority to IN
ilict such punlshments, unless II can be made to
appear that the constituents OF the State midi
yidually have the night 10 kill the murderer for
the same reason, J. c. IN order to deiT others from
committing the crIme.
We must, At seems TO me In the light OF this
last argument, either give up our theory OF civil
government, our Tepubhcanism, our democracy
and 60 back IN acknowledgment OF the claims OF
the despots of the old world, who assert a de-
cIslye night TO dispose of their subjects as they
please, or else we must recognize the lnvloa-
billy Of the life OF man, and renounce the right
OF Governments to mflct the penalty OF death.
To she'd the blood Of our fellow creatures,
SAYS Blackstone, one of the greatest writers
upOn aw and Morals, that has ever lived, " to
shed the blood OF our fellow creatures Is 4 mat
ter that requires the greatest deliberatlon, and
the fullest conviction Of our own authority for
life Is the immediate glftof God 10 man; which
neither he can resign, nor can 1t be taken from
HIM, unless by the command, or the permission
OF Him who gave It, either expressly revealed
or collected from the laws OF nature or society
by clear and ndisputable demonstrations"
INSIST Therefore, IN conclusion, that the pun
lshment OF death ought TO be abolished, because
there Is no command or permission OF God TO
irflct 1t, that is now obligatory or IN force
We all know, of course, that Moses, (belieyed
by most Christians To have been the dVlncly ap
pointed lawgIver of the Jews,) Instituted 4 gov
eminent, under which the penalty of death was
tl'sNii"'u- Dut IL WAS pItsSlIotu Ilos loi muir
der, for rape, and treason alone. Ii was pre-
scnbod for many other ofenses, some Of them
merely ceremonial. There is no one al the pres
ent day, trust IN any part Of Christendom, 30
sangunary that he would consent 10 enforce
the penal code Of Moses And vet there IS no
,nsin'ation, anywhere given, that those Who
knowledge it, present authority, are at liberty TO
elect the crimes upon which the death penalty
shall still be inflicted and abrora,e II IN refer
ence to others, that may not seem so heln0us
II we adopt the penal code OF the Jewish law
eiver on account OF It's divine authority, we are
bound TO adopt the whole From this presume.
there Is no one among Us who would not revolt
however strenuous he be for Capital punishment
IN certain cases Every consistent man, there
fore viii iorbear TO urge the present authority Of
Mosaic law for 1t will require Of him more than