Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1870-05-19
BAD FEATURES or A BAD SYS.
TE1

GEH.
1t has long been pre,ense, on the part
of the friends of the whipping-post that
men were never whipped twice. Once done,
it was enough; they either pilfcred no more,
or they left the State, and stole from other
PEOPLE Now this pretense no longer avals,
for on Saturday, John Willis, white man,
was whipped in the jail yard at New Castle,
for the third time. After having been twice
publicly punished in this manner, he had
again committed an offence against the laws,
and again was tied up to be whipped.
This, then, disposes of that story, and we
have no doubt, that were there any means
OF ascertainins the personal identity Of the
thousands whose backs have been dashed, il
would be found that large portion OF them
had come TO the punishment more than
once.
Again, it is TO I've remarked how une-
quail is the degree with which the law
deals out this sort Of penalty. Of the
six whipped on Saturday, one had stolen a
pair OF chickens, one a pair of shoes, one a
pair Of ''gaiters, another some clothes, &c.
They were brought forth before the public.
stripped, tied to a post, and dashed Was
not this degradation greater than the of
Tense demanded? Does not Il public speaker
who, in addressing a meeting Of the people,
regrets that Brooks, when he assaulted
CHARLES Summer, not kill him--did not
ppfuf,1nip ll1f. M nf
far more worthy of public whipping, than
the poycry-sliickcn wretch who steals a
pair Of shoes; Among the convics Of the
same term Of Court, a, which these six
were sentenced to be whipped, were two
men who entioed another to barn, away
from help, and then both most brutally as
saulied him, beating him in violent and
cruel manner, till he begged, upon his knees,
Tor his life. These criminals were not whip
ped, Docs anybody pretend to say that if
there is to he public logging at all, those
brutes did not deserve it, more than the
man who pilfered dollar and halfs worth
of chickens?
But, if this punishment be retained, why
not make il what it purporis to be? The
law Of the State commands that the clash
cs' be well laid on" Yet Mr.. Richardson.
all testimony agrees, does not "lay on well,
| at all, in most clses, but only when he
chooses to conclude that the convict espe-
cial!y deserves it. In other words, he acts as
judge of the crimes committed, and discrimi.
mates as to the degree of punishment In nine
out of ten cases, he makes the operation, a
mere form, so far as its physical pain is con
c3rned, though he cannot, however he may
desire, wipe away the public disgrace, and
moral injury done the culprit.
Lastly, one more objection to the present
practice. The law commands that the whip
ping shall be publicly" done. Yet the
"public' usually consists of very few ex-
cept children. The audience, on Saturday,
embraced about u dozen or twenty small boys
and girls. We solemnly protest against this
shameful consequence of the law. Is this
method of education, for which the Chris
tan people of the community are willing 10
he responsible? In the absence of n public
school system, do they agree that the chill.
dren OF the State are to be instructed IN iail.
yards, By the iogging of human backs?