New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-09-04

-'tIii - 1-Ati- - - - -'''- s'+-.'-' et.N
exerts Z salatary influence, then the multi
rlicaticn Of books Of piracy and murder
is the very course that should be t4kea 70
purify and elevate the Public Morals.
But mawkish sympathy for criminals
and the want Of certainty Of detection and
punishment are also causes OF the preVa-
Ierce Of sanguina1v crime. Here again
The Messenger has exactly our own view
o. The matter. We are so hostile 70 the
.mawkish sympathy aforesaid. tha. We OBJ
iect to the deuunciation or inAiction Of any
nenalty which Is calculated to erc'tc such
.sympathy. Does The Messenger know
any SUCH We DO, single one-Ihe
Penalty of Death It. victims are almost
always the subjects of popular sympathy.
which the same culprits. if subjected to any
other penalty. would never have excited.
And this sympathy is more abundantiy mani
tested By the advocates than by the oppo-
nents of Capital Punishment.
So OF the certainty Of detection and
punishment We object to the Death
Penalty that it VIGOROUSLY renders conyic-
ton OF capital crime difficult, even when
the guilt is beyond a reasonable doubt,
and thus increases the temptation to crime
By Increasing the chances Of Impunrty.
Not The anti killing alone, but the advo-
Gates of executions as well. shrink from
rendering verdict whereof the result Is to
be death The fallibility Of human judg-
ment. the possibility of perjury. the deceit
funess Of appearances. all plead trumpet
tongued against such a verdict. Many
verdict of Not Guilty has been rendered on
a capital charge where Guilty would have
been the award had the penalty been other
than death Men naturally recoil from pro-
nouncIng doom which can never be re-
called nor corrected And we know right
well that among the most ardent cOntem-
ners of the verdict which consigned Prof.
Webster 20 the gallows were leading cham
pions of the Death-Penalty. They felt
that there was a shadow Of doubt a. to his
guilt, and they shrunk from the destruction
of his life while loop to hang doubt
upon remained. They would never have
thought of canvassing the verdict had the
penalty been lifelong Imprisonment. And
so, because we too desire the certainty of
detection and punishment do we demand
the abolition OF the Gallows.
The closing paragraphs of the above
quoted article provoke comparisons which
we are anxious to meet. There Is in this
country large and increasing party opposed
to the infection of death by law. This party
exerts certain moral intluence-in what
direction We challenge 4 scare hing in
quiry If the murderers and desperate crim-
inals of our day are mainly found IN the
ranks of the Anti Galows party, let the fact
be proclaimed Who knows when and where
a prominent anti-Gallows man or woman
was ever convicted of murder Who knows
when and where a murder was committed
in this broad land BY an agitator for the abo-
litoR of Hanging How many of the large
number now under conviction for murder IN
this country ever gave vote or lifted a
voice against the Gallows! Nay. who
knows an instance in which murder has
been melted BY the hope of being canonlzed
as a martyr, &c. as suggested above.
We call for the facts. Culprits on the
verge of the Gallows are generally willing
to confess literally. The clergymen VINO
attend them are nearly all in favor OF Hang
ing With the hint we have given them, 1t
will be odd if they cannot get up something
to answer the purpose. When, therefore,
may We look for the first confession OF i
murderer who was tempted to kill by hear
ING anti-Gallows speeches and reading anti
Gallows newspapers DO Mt speak all at
once. Gentlemen