, 1869-02-11
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
Sprsch of John stusrt m,ll In Paslsa

Sprech OF John Stuxrt N1,ll In Patlsa
wen1 Against tss Abolition.
III the House Of CutuInons, on the evening
of april 81, 1867, on she motion Of going into
committee on the Capital Punishment within
Prlsons bill, Mr. Gipin moved q resolution |
ishment, and IN 4 length tpeech dilated on
the usua1 arguments iu fayor Of calRnge-
the greater reverence for human life which |
II would spread among the people, the ire
trieyable character OF the punishment, the |
frequent mistakes made, the un"!llingness |
OF juries to coz -ict, and its practical failures
10 deter.
Mr. Gregorr argued, against the resolution, |
that the extreme punishment Tas necessary |
to restain the violent dangerous classes from
desperate crimes, and, above all, for tile |
preservation OF convict discipline.
The resolution WIS supported By Mr..
Neatc, and opposed By Mr.. Johu Stuart
Mill.
MR. = ). MILLS srEEcH.
Mr.. ]. $. MILL. It would be q great sails
facr,on to me If l were able to support this
motion. 1t Is always matter If regret to
me to tind myself, on public question, op-
posed to those wlo are called, sometimes in
the way OF honor aud sometimes in what il
Vi all persoLs VINO take part In public al airs.
they are those for ~ho1n. on thu whole,
feel the greatest amount OF respect tor
tAeis characteristic il, that they devote their
time, their labor, and much 0. their money
10 objects purely public, With less admiS-
ture ., either PERSONAL Or elass selnshness
thRn any other class OF politicians what
ever. Tn almost all the great questions
scarcely any politicians orc 50 steadily and
almost uniformly to BE- found on the side Of
st1ated application Of some just aud highly
Important principle. Tn the very subject
that Is now occupying us We all know what
signal service they have rendered. It Is
through their efforts thar our criminal laws,
| Which within my memory hanged people Tor
| stealing III u dwelling lcusc to The Falue
| Of 4s.-aaws by virtue of which rows Of hui
man beings might be seen suspended ia front
| ot Sewga,c by those who ascended or de-
scended Luo*ate. I1i:i-haye so greatly re-
ftrocity ,that aggravated murder is now psncti-
ca!ly the only crime which Is punishcd with
| dca.h ty any Of our lawful tribunals; and we
| are even now deliteratiug whether this ex-
treu1e penalty should he retained in thar sol
itnty case. This vast gain not on'y TO hui
ulal,ity hut TO- the ends Of penal Justice VIC
owe ia the rhilantlrtplsts and It they are
mistaken, as canuot but think they are. in
the present Instance. It Is only in not perceiy-
ing the right time and place for stonping In
d cart Ger hitherto 80 cmnently bcuelcial. Sir,
there is point st which, conceive, that
currcr ought 10 stop. When there has ueen
brought homc to any one, by conclusive
| evidence, the greatest crime E,own to the
law, and when the attendant circumstances
suggest no palliation of the guilty. no
hope that the eulpsit may even set not be
unworthy to live Among mankind, nothing
to make It probable that the crime WAS III
exception to bis general character rnther tlan
Il consequence OF 1t, then l confess |. arpeArs
to me that TO deprive the criminal Of the lltc
| of which be bus proved himself to be u,1-
worthy-se 1emnly to blot Inn out from the
fc1lowthtp Of mankind and from the catalo-
rue OF thu liyIrE-is the most appropriate, as
1t Is cert8inly the 1uost impressive, mode ln
tho penal Consequences which sof the secnrity
Of life it Is Indispensable 10 nnncx to it.
defend this peualty when confined 10 afro.
ct0us casca, OH the very ground OIL which il
Is cotulnonly atlnckcd, on that Of humanity
to the criminal, as beyond comparison thu
leust cruel mede in which 1t Is possible ado
Quately to deter trcm thc crime. II In ou,
lurror OF lnli,etlrg deuth we cndeAyor t. d.
| wise some punishment for the living crtin n |,
! which shall act On the human mIut1 With
deterrent force Mt all cotn}mrat'le to TINT q
) death We arc driven to in1ltc1iOns less sever,
indeed in appearance. aud, therefore, less Ut
, t1caeion., but tar mots cruel In reality. Few,
= think, would venture IL propose, rs pun
: islmctt tor agg1ayed murder, i, than I'M
t 1alsoumcnt ~Eh hard labor ior life thut i
r | th.. fac to which murderer wonld be con
: | signed by tho mercy whlch shrinka from rut
q til K him 10 death But has 1t bccn sslilic!cu,l
!, considered wha' sort ofa mercy thi+ Is, m
| A1t A4AA VI k!AG IL 1EAst ~ 4lt itlGEEk
: tue punishment Is not really 1t ilicleJ, ii
i docs BECOME q sham which q few rears ~.
= such pnntshn.ents were rapidly becoming
q then indeed its adoption would he III Lo:
y tan:n1nosnt 10 giving up the attempt 10 n
press murder nitogulhcr. Bu' If IT really
J what II processes IL be, and If 1t Is realized
Is all its rlgor by the popular imagination, as
}. very rrnbahly would nUt bc, but Il, 1t nlu
IS he Il It is to bc etitcaciuus It wll be so hyc
~ Ing than when he memory Of tue crime IS +
I.
q difficulty III csecu ipg 1t. Wha: coa,pari.u
s can there Gully be, i'll point Of severity. b
tc tween cpn6lgnnE 4 man 10 the short pai,
If OF rapId death AID immurin. hi
IN a living tomb, there to l!ngcr OF
l. what may be long life, in tco hur.
is ,st md most monotonous toll, w!,hor
!, ary OF its alterations OF reWar1s-acbarsl
:. from ail pl. a.art a,rhis and sounds, aud Gu
y oil from Ill earthly hone, except slfgh
i mltf atioH Of ho.liis restraint. or small I'LL
t this, .vcausc there is no one moment at whtc
II The Suffering Is Of terrifying Intensity. ant
IF above MI, because 1t does not contain th
e element SO impo. Ing to the i'nacna'io9. {
!. the III know1, Is universally reru:ed n'!te
d pu,ish,ucnt than death, stands iu all code
1r as Il mitigation Of the capital penalty and
r. Thankfully accepted as such For it Is cia1
L acte1i$tic OF all puni ,hments which drpcn
le on duration for their ctlicacY-all: therefore
a which are not co1psral OF pccuuiary-tna
lHEt ~ 3OuS bAAA lIS$ @E&AAf WI
s it is, n the contrary, one of the st1nnse
n Recommendations q punishment can hay
3f that it should seem more rigor ous than 1t il
q for it= practical effect depends far less Il
Of what it Is than on what it Seems. There is no
a. I SHOULD lhl.k. any humAn intllcti,n whfc
,e | rnases IN impression on the imagination {
,c entirely out OF proportion to It's real seyc
q isy as the punishment Of death. Ihe pueisl
as ment must be mild, indeed, which does NJ
n add more to the sum OF human misery tina
h is necessaoi!y OF directly added ny the ex'
cntion Of criminal as my houorab
H. friend has himself remarked. the most II:
b. human laws eau do to any man IN the matte
rs OF death Is 10 hasten it The man would has
es ticd at any rate not 50 very much lit-rs au
n. on the average, I fear, with considerah
II. g.eater anount Of bodily suffering. Socte1
he Is asked, them to denule Itself OF IN instr
at 1ucnt Of punishment. which, II the Gr!'
he cases To Whfvh alone It is suitable, elects !
TO purpose at d less cost Of human suierlt
ed than any other-whicl, while il iaspir
murc terror, is less cruel in actual fac: .lls
rs airy punishment that We. should think
I'll snbsiitutin. for It. My Honorable tf1e1
a. says tha. 1t does no: inspire terror, aud II
M 'nt,9eFeT 10 BE- OF e4tma!ea Rsp'''nsp' Ss
n. ELECTS on hardened criminals. Tho
a. whose hahitual eay IF life Keeps them. SO
an lows, do grow to care less about IT. az.
It compare good thugs with bad. al old soidi
*. Is nu1 much affected by the chances OF dyil
tal iD tatt1p. eau al}oro TO admit all thaf
oa- often said about the indifference of profs
of sioual criminals to the eallows. Though
~, that indltere- &c one-thfrf Is probably brss
,sr du and another third confidence that th
as shall have The luck 10 escape, It l. quite pre-
In au1e that the remaining third j. real. B
tho efficacy OF puni:hme 1t which acts pr
r. cipa,y through tie ina eiuatIon Is CHI tly
ire tp u.easurtd bg the impression it makes
tai tEutc who are still innocent By the horl
be with which 1t surrounds 1hc h:st nrumptir
ke Of guilt the restraining influence it exe:ci
bF ! over the beginning Of the thought which
ter indnlgcd, would become temptation; I
raj check which it e1efts over the Eradual
spt clcD>fon towards The state never sudde1
ri aitaincd-in which criuc no longer rero
orc | and punishment no longer terrlflcs' AS
;uf- what Is CHILLED the failure Of deA.n pun:
lan | ment, who Is. able to Judrc Of that =
spt | partly know who those arc whom It has. I
IN deferred !; but who Is there who knows ~h
e1- it has deferred; or how many human bci
1t has saved who would nave lived to be n
her deseres If that awful association had hot b
ate thrown ro,iEd the idea OF marder from tt
,rk earliest infnncye Let Us not forget that
Ks | most imposisg tacs loses It's power over
o.t ! Imagination If 1t is made too cheap. Wha
tbe M crimes IS lasished on small offences, until
d. nun feeling recoils from 1t, then, indeed
, 10 | ceases 10 intim1datc, because II ceases to
dis believed Ia. The failure Of capital pun
orr neut III ease Of theft is easily accounted
ate the thief did not believe that it would be
wc fllctcd. He had learnt by experience I
,ta. jnrurs would perjure themselves rather Il
hat fiud him gullty tnat Judges "oula selzt
cen excuse for not sentencing him to dea
me or ftr recommending him to mercy;
Ter, that If neither juries nor Judges =
mn, mercltul, there we're still hopes from m
fact thof1tg aoofe ooln Nnen lungs aa1 @
zen 10 anls pass II N1s ulru uu4e ~ kbG ~
IN ruin attemPt' Mhen II Is 1npossi'ls ~ 10
to ilict punishment, oI "neu II Hit laoh