, 1873-06-25


opposed to sery;le and partisan journalism as q
| very sordd and corrupt pursuit.
| PUNIsHMENT OF 1KsAHE CRIMINALS.
Some timo since THE TRIBUNE presented itB
readers with Some novel distinctions between
emotional or porceptional insanity and that
complete alteration which possesses the mind
and tha yolition, and leaves the victim no power
to test his criminal propensitiea by tho light Of
reason or restrnin them by the exercise Of his
will. The majority OF acquittals in murder cases
have been On the ground Of emotional or per-
ceptional insanity, and it was held that this
momentary obscura-ion OF the perceptiye
faculty, or the abnormal indulgence Of the eloo-
tional tendencies cannot release criminal from
the responsibility Of his crime, 80 long as he had
reason and will remaining, by the oxer~
else OF which he might have restrained
his criuinal propensites- To this view, DR..
William 4. Hammond has added another Of
equal force, which, with or without the admis-
zion OF the other principle, ezplodes the popu-
lar and dangerous fallacy OF acquitting criminals
on tie ground OF insanity. He takes Is text
the result Of three murder trials in France.
which are calculated to illustrate the progress
which has been made with courts and jurics on
the plea Of insanity. One WEB the case Of An
tome Lege1, in 1924, who had killed ittle girl
and drank her blood There WAS abundant tes-
timony tending to establish his insanity, and
the horrible features Of his criminal act were in
confirmation Of this ground Of defense !; but the
murderer vas condemned and executed In
1851, Antoine Joba1d killed young woman, and
assigned as his motive that he wished to die.
and yet did not want to incur the guilt
OF suicide. The doctors pronounced it q
found guilty with e1tenuating circumstances"
and sentenced to the galleys for Life. 4 later
case was in 1854, in which young man shot his
step-mother at the d1nner-tabls upon sudden
impulse Of aversion. He was acquitted. From
that time on, homicidal MANN and emotional in
sanity have had q recognition in France. It is
unnecessary to recapitulate the familiar cases in
America which show similar progress ind like
contradiction
DR.. Hammond has made these cases the text
for advancing the broad theory that insanity ia
no excuse for crime, founded upon tho same
principle as the legal maxim that Ignorance
Of the law excuses no one." DR.. Hammond holds
that it is not the province Of criminal Law to mete
out just rewards and puniehments to individuals
accused but to protect society. The means
adopted for the protection Of society is such
puniehment as will prevent the criminal from
repeating his offonse, and will deter others from
committing like crime. The ignorant child
who steals loaf Of bread, Unconscious of any
crime, may not be guilty in the sight OF Heaven,
but it is the province OF the law to punish him
for petty larceny. II the criminal tribunals
should undertake to estimate the moral e1tenua-
ton that attends large proportion Of the cases
that come before it, the interests Of society
would be seriously damaged. Such course
would be q direct encouragement Of crime, for
every man criminally DISPOSED would rely upon
his ability to demonstrate m ignorance
OF the law and moral irresponsibilty.
Dr.. Hammond holds that insanity, plead
ed in & criminal case is virtually no more
nor less than plea Of ignorance Of the law.
The interests Of society remain the same, and it
is necessary that the law should exercise its de-
terrent influence and 1ts proyident purpose Of
preventing repetition Of the crime. The fact
is, that the recognition Of the plea Of insanity in
murder cases has had precisely the same effect
that the admission Of the common p1ea Of igno-
rance Of the law would have The number Of
murders has thereby been increased, and there
are now certain well-defned conditions under
which men coolly assume that they have the
right to take the law in their Own hands,
and exercise summary jurisdiction orer hu-
man Life. There is every reason to believe
that many men and women have INDUCED
their murderous passions who would have
restrained them hsd it not been for the encour-
agement Of acquittd which they have received
from the result Of various trials Of murder un-
der Bomewhat analogous circumstances.
In the matter OF jurisprudence, Dr. Hammond