New-York tribune., 1873-05-16

:. :; trne that the large majority Of those
convicted of that crime nave Dee1 ,t no"R as eooa
man MAY live TO be 90 80 49, or 80 years OF age with
! ont fine commission Of any crlnei then, under the
influence of circumstances M'0I m "VTfI Ii PiooaSf t
! low-creatIIre, Ii is no more probable that
| tbis same individual would again commit
,,iiar oGense if restored TO liberty after term
| of years than that any other peaceable citizen
| wonld do so The AGtOn, Jealous defender OF the
gallows in recent NUMBER declares that IL cannot
favor the abolition of capital punishment until the
| onnonents of that penaity VIII demonstrate that
| life imprisonment means lfe imprisonment, and 1t
! then makes the statement that IN New-fork, IRON
1913 10 1853 during period oi - years, out OF S4
nersous condemned for life 1& were paTdOned out.
Well what of i'll If The Nation can Inform us how
MANY boots aud shoes were worn by the people of
New-York City in 1872, it will be quite valuable
n piece of information as the other, unless Jhe
Nation can show that society has been injnriously
Infected by the communication OF the 2l4 death sen
teuceS and the restoration to liberty and citizenship
of the lA. make the statement, from the best IN
formation that can be obtained that over 600 muI-
dereTs have been set at ull liberty IN the various
States of the Union during the past 30 years ana
call upon The Nation to give the names of those oi
the 600 so pardoned who have committed the second
names of five Can three be furnishedY Can one
be found of this whole number who mas
repeated his crmef am looking Tor faGts ia as
The Nation prdes itself upon ITS statlstlcal aDues,
il NAV aid me. This does not refer, OF course, 10
those individuals VINO after cOnvicton have con-
feSSed to prior crimes as in the case OF LYDIA Sner-
man but desire 20 ascertain whether after public
conviction for murder, followed by imprisonment
and pardon. any one OF those restored 10 society
has been proved guilty of again committing muir
der The point in which the public IS most inter
ested is not as to how many of this class OF crlnl-
mails have been restored 70 liberty, but whether
society has suffered in consequence
REFORMATION THE AIM or PUNISHMENT.
The Nation in its zeal to convince tine public that
the opponents of capital punishment cannot enforce
the substituted penalty of life imprisonment has un-
Willingly turned its guns upon its own theorys For,
if in given period pa murdeTers have escaped the
paovs and l34 of these have been set at full liberty
in single State which has always been well sup
piled with laws to hang and gbbcts which TO eX-
ecute criminals what can The Nation say in defense
of that law which has been proved so conspicuous
faiure2 When The Nation shall devise some plan
by which il can enforce Its own faYOute penalty Win
at least fair degree OF impunity, or When 10 shail
he able TO show that the state mas the aDil.y @ 10
hang more than one ont of twenty of its murdGers,
the opponents Of capital punishment VIII theh DC IN
q mood to listen TO its suggestions.
Society is best protected when ITS CRIMINALS are
reformed. When our penal institutions shah Ge
converted into State TefOmatOres: when the Mosaic
elements Of atOnement and eXpiatlon shall be einh
mated from our penal code when IelTlDutlNe
iusticep "prOpOTtiOnate punishnents, ana aue-
Guate penalties shall be banlshed from our punl-
five system. and our penal laws shall rest securely
upon The underlying principle of reformation Wnen
al time-SentenCcs shall bc abolished, anu every
criminal shall be restrained OF his liberty uhtlI lie s
fit 10 he trusted again with his civil nights, no mat
fer what his crime how long II may take 10 It-
form him when the pardOning power shah ne
taken away from the Governor for all purposes ana
placed in the hands of a Board OF lardOns VINO
shall restore men to citizenship only upon con,
elusive evidence of rcfOrmaton-thcn ana not tlll
law and better protection TO society. -
Chicago Ill.,, April p, 1873 MARVIN Il. BoVEE