East Saginaw courier., 1865-02-22
THE DEATH PENALTY.


>enate Committee OH the Judiciary to
sindry citizens asking tho restoration
Of the death penalty in this State:
Observation shows that the dread of
violent death is not SO great as it is
generally supposed to be. How often
do men deliberately court death. The
soldier, the duelist, the suicide, the
misanthrope, and even the hardened
offender, who has committed crimes
as pastime, meet this great change
without the least apparent fear or ap-
prehension, and sometimes seem to
welcome it as desirable infliction.
In many instances murder is followed
by suicide. In other cases the guilty
perpetrators surrender themselves at
once, and even manifest an eagerness
to be led to the scaffold.
The right of society to protect itself
against aggravated crimes, and to
prevent the same by such punishment,
even to taking of life, as shall be most
effective for that purpose, is not de-
niand the free sacrifice of life for the
general good, as in case Of war, there
can be no doubt OF the right, when
necessary for the same purpose, to
destroy human monsters who plumber
community and prey upon its mem
bers. But we have yet to learn that
the inniction of the death penalty h,s
proved terror sufficient to protect
society or prevent crime. On the con-
trary, we think that the shedding of
innocent blood has discouraged prose-
cutions, prevented convictions, caused
laws to DO loosely enforced, and on
abled great criminals too often to es-
cape the just merit of their crimes
1t has been well observed "that a
single failure to punish excites a
greater degree of hope in the minds
Of criminals than twenty executions
excite Of fear" When the guilty
thus go free, villaipy is encouraged,
and the temptation to commit crime
strengthened and stimulated by the
prospect Of escaping its penalties.
Prison statistics fully verify the
truth of the old adage, that "iSnor-
ance is the mother of crime" Unbar
the cell of the felon, and in the great
majority Of cases it will be found to
contain the victim of n neglected edu-
cation, of Incidence or of drunkenness.
If remedy is sought for growing
crime and depravity, provide free
schools and make them attractive,
sharpen the faculty for discerning and
discriminating between right and
wrong. To-day, with the educational
advantages of the State, far too large
q portion of its children are growing
up in ignorance and sin. Suppress
gambling establishments, create pub
lic sentiment that shall discourage the
use Of Intoxicating liquors, that shal
make idleness uniashionable, tha
shall not wink at corruption, whethel
in public or private places, that shal
make the detection Of vice easy, ano
its punishment certain, and you vii
have an effective remedy lesseninf
crime, without resorting to the long
tried and unsuccessful experiment o
terrifying man into the path Of virtue
by means OF private slaughter pens,
or public executions like that recen
ono in England, where the crimina
was launched into eternity amid tn
laughter, jcers and yells Of mass o
nearly one hundred thousand persons
largely sprinkled with gangs of rob
bers, pickpockets and rutfians of ever,
shade, "plying their vocation" "wh'
openly stopped, 'bonneted,' sometime
! garroted, and always plunderod an,
, person whose dress led them to thin
! him worth the trouble"
, 1t is now quite or nearly twent
.. years since the death penalty wa
! abolished in this State. Experience
. here has shown that capital offence
have not, since the abolition of thi
provision, increased greatly beyon
: the prop,rtionate growth of popula
!, ton, nor relatively faster than in othe
States where the penalty is still Ell
Q forced. Nor have we evidence thu
!, this change has in any wise lessene
J. the restraints upon crime, or induce
!, its more frequent commission with
! our borders. Reckless men have II,
9 resorted here for the purpose of il
. dulging in a propensity for violenc
I. and bloodshed, because, thereby, the
would not forfeit life. Our pcopl
4 have not been terrified by dispos