Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-09-02
The Execution.

The Execution.
The extraordinary circumstance Of a
capital execution in this city, has very
naturally produced much excitement
among us, which, as a general thing, is
taking turn likely to result benefcially
to society. The majesty of the law has
been INDICATED in a case in which public
opinion was more unanimous in calling
for it's vindication by the infiiction of the
laws penalty upon the culprit, than in
any other occurring any where within
our recollection. That Woodward was
guilty of a foul and revolving murder,
after for years brutally maltreating his
patient and suffering victim, no unpreju-
diced person in Washington doubts; and
that his after-sentence behavior proved
him to be utterly callous to impressions
of regret for his crime, is equally appa-
rent to all. We. therefore, confess to no
sympathy with him whatever. His life
was fairly forfeited to the law S vengeance,
and to have interfered with its force, would
have been palpably to have held out en-
couragement to the vicious, drunken and
malignant to repeat his crime in this COM
munity, wherein great criminals have
very generally come to believe that in
order to escape due punishment, it is only
necessary that thecrime committed should
be monstrous, heinous or startling. While
deeply regretting that individuals will
perpetrate offences like his, We hope that
as long as the punishment of the crime is
death, it will be duly inflicted on convic-
ton, unless mitigating circumstances of
extraordinary character are developed
after trial and conviction. We hope
so for two reasons: First, because, as e1-
ecutions are now conducted under cur
District laws, the impression they must
make on the young, ignorant and vicious,
are of salutary character and next,
because, until it comes to be fixed fact
that hanging is almost invariably to fol-
low murder in the first degree, public
opinion cannot be awakened to the great
public crime of perpetuating the death
punishment on our statute books. That
punishment is full quarter, if not half
century, behind the age. No well-in-
formed person believes that, as punish
ment, it is as likely to repress the perpe-
tration of crime as imprisonment for life,
which costs society nothing, now that
prisoners are made to support themselves
By labor. Society has no more moral
right to hurry an individual before his
creator, than has the criminal so to hurry
his victim. The legal right of society to
intict the death punishment is derived
from views of public justice prevailing
centuries ago, almost all of which have
passed out Of credit long since; and it is
high time that this relic of barbarous
age followed them.
We greatly commend the T. S. Mar
shall of the District of Columbia for exc.
cutting the dread sentence of the law in
this case in person. To our mind, the
obligation upon him to do so, was solemn,
indeed. To have deputed any one to dis
charge this disagreeable duty for PAN, as
isdOne even yet, at times, elsewhere, would
hare been to change the punishment from
what the law intended it to be-a stern
and solemn rebuke of crime, and vindica-
ton of the majesty of public justice and
private rights-into mere rerenge upon the
body of the criminal for the outrage COM
mittcd by him, to be obtained by the en-
pioyment of some wretch toinfict it, who,
morally, cannot be fairly regarded above
the law 5 victim in any one attribute of
character or true manhood. In truth,
the Jack ketch system is even worse than
that of the death punishment, and we
greatly rejoice that this community have
not been insulted by resort to it in their
midst
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