Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1873-04-04
HORDER IN NEW YORK-ITS
PUNISH MENT.

MURDER IN NEW YORk-IT!
PUNISHMENT.
The Goodrich homicide is excitin,
as much attention in New York thi
week as the Foster hanging did las
week, and well it may. At the yer,
moment when the whole city was il
eager expectancy of the execution O
the sentence of the law upon con
demned murderer, Mr.. Goodrich, ,
well known citizen, is found dead il
his own house, bearing upon his person
| unnIstakabie evidence of having
come to l,is death by violence. o.
course the policemen were early on the
spot after the discovery, and upon q
view of the body and its surroundings
they gravely came to the conclusion
that Mr.. Goodrich had committed
suicide. To outside laymen, however,
! this view of the case did not seem to
be we'll sustained. In the first place,
Goodrich had three pistol balls shot
! through his head One went in behind
his left ear, one Ill his left temple and
the other iii his right temple, and all
one oriiicc the effect of the powder was
visible; at the others it was not. 1t is
conbcnded he must have been IL man
of wonderful vitality, to have fired
the second and third shots, and then
to have lain down and placed his boots
under his head and then to have COM
posed his limbs, and with his arms by
his side and the pistol still in his hand!
But this IS not all. It was manifest
that the mans face and head and neck
had been washed subsequent to his
hAying been shot, for there was no
blood upon him save slight STAIN on
his shirt collar. \ bloody towel was
also hung up III al adjoining room rs
if to dry. III spite of all these facts,
however, the policemen were, and still
are, it is said, of opinion that the man
committed suicide. We confess that
to lis the supposition seems too absurd
to be entertained for moment. Later
developments seem to point to Il
woman, whose relations with Mr..
Goodrich required but had not re-
ceived, legal sanction and whom he
was about to abandon, as the criminal
The frequency and the immunity
with which murders have been COM
mitted in New York, have given =prae-
70 a
great increase in the number of muir
ders is doubtless due to failure to in
fiict adequate punishment, and this in
turn, is due to a sentiment of false
philanthrophy that has induced the
Legislatures of the State to make mate
rial alterations in the old law in rela-
tion to homicide. The opponents of
capital punishment have not indeed
been able to accomplish all they desire
in that State, but they have succeeded
in very materially reducing the num-
Der Of cases in which it may be infiict-
ed Indeed, the tendency of public
opinion seems to be i'll favor of abol-
ishing hanging altogether. Unfortu-
nately for that class of men whose deli
cate sensibilities make them revolt at
the hanging of fellow being, no mat
ter what crimes he may have committed,
the modification Of the law of homicide
in New York has not been followed by
any decrease in crime; indeed, we be-
licve there has been marked increase.
It was not to be expected that this effect
would beattributedt to its proper cause,
nor has it been. On the contrary, it
has been attributed to the administra-
ton and machinery of the law, rather
than 10 the law itself; to the Judges and
Juries, rather than TO the Legislature.
We have never yielded to the clamor of
these latter day saints against our sys-'
tenn of trial by jury. 1t may not be
perfect, but it has stood the test of
time, the test of near II thousand years,
better than any other human device
for the good of man, no matter whether
that good be sought i'll the puni.hnient
of guilt or the protection OF innocence.
L his ~ no tlHlc Aol Dcopic oA IfiO
South, at least, to deery or to und
value the great bulwark of the liberty
OF the citizen, the trial by jury. A
judge now upon the bench has declared
it to be his intention to make the peo-
pie of Il certain county in this State
'.see hell" What would that unfortu
nate people do were it not for that ines
timabie right of ii ial by jury We do
not think the fault hes so much in the
execution or non execution of the law.
as in the Law itself.
Upon one condition, as has been well
said, thore will be an entire unaniInity
Of opinion in favor of the abolition of
capital punishment, and that is, that
the nlnrderers will begin first. So long
as individuals visit upon the persons
who offend them the punishment of
death, 50 long must society visit upoa
individuals who disturb the peace i'll SO
terrible manner, punishment terri
ble enough to prevent it.
NEW PARTIES.
We said, when the telegraph, an
n