, 1874-02-19

THE SENTENCE OF RAFFERTY,,
Tho effort making III this city to obtain from
Gov. Doyoridgoa Communication Of tho nontouco
Of Christopher nattorty is 4 movement in tho
direct interest Of crime and disorder and should
bo sternly discountonanced by ovory law-abitllng
oitizon who has tho good nat1o and well-being
Of tho city at hcart. In Wow Of tho brutal aud
horrible crime which tLiB man committed. and
tho circumstances Which haye attended hfs
humorous trials this organized md deliberate
effort to thwart tho operation Of Justice is scarce.
ly loss than crimo iteolf. It is blow ut tho
peace Of tho city, M announcement to tho do
pravod class Of tho community tint tho fat Of
the law, although pronounced ovor and over
again, l1as no binding forco, aud premium to
crime Of eyery description.
Nearly two years have now boon exhausted In
tho effort to Bavo this man Rafforty from tho
faso which luis dreadful crime 30 absolutely NOR
it's. Ie Ina had three trials, in which hc has
boon defended by eminent logal counsel, aud in
overY ono Of those trials ho has boon found
guilty without thu slightest cayil upon tho part
Of the 1urios. As there could bo no question
raised rs to tho fact Of tho murder, mud no owl
donco which waB introduced palliatol ita atrocity
or brought q single doubtupon tho want Of prov
ocation which characterized It, his counsel,
with raro legal acumon, exhausted tho techut-
ca1ities Of tho law In Lis dofon8e. Whateyor
doubts there may havo boon arising from tho
facts themselves or from tho purely legal as-
pocta Of tho case, were adroitly used for his ben
eft. In the faco OF this complete do
fenae, ho WA throo timou found guilty.
Twice tho Supreme Court .remandod tho
csse on technical errorB, which boing corrected,
the Supreme Court reviewed the entiro evidence,
and, declaring TINT the verdict was warranted by
It, fixed tho time for tho operation Of the sau-
tence. Under such extraordinary clrcumstancoH
as theso, is it anything loss than hollow mock
CRY and contempt Of Justice to call upon the
effort to convict murderer, to ignore tho
rulings Of tho lower Courts mud tho decisions Of
the Supreme Court, after every authority Inns
been exhausted, aud call upon him to decide tho
Issue?
but tho caao has still deeper Significance
than this, It is not simply shall Christopher
Rafferty, pay the penalty Of tho law he hos yio-
lated, 60 that justice may bo vindicatcd aud
murder not 60 unpuniBhod. Tho safety OF tho
cltizonH Of this city from violence dopouds upon
the punishment OF Rafferty,. II he is allowed
to 60 unexccutad. then tho roughs and brutcs
haye right to infer that changing Is played
out" md that they may givo unrestrained vent
to their brutal passions without oudangeriug
their own lives. II murder is to, involve only q
journey to Joliet, from which they may rcturn
at come future day, then murder will
and no man will DO able to tell when his
lifo is safe. Perhaps even more significant than
this ia the fact that 1t Ia not only tho life Of tho
citizen which is to po protected but tho lives Of
diaorderly olomant Of tho com munity. It Ia q
question not only whether tho safety Of the
citizen shall be guaranteed, but also whether
the policeman who protects the citizen shall bo
6a11s ~ NAANtOHAaA AkAANAt$ NV AAu6CNt u
is virtually notifying! not ouly tho roughs Of
Bridgeport, but Of every other part Of
the city, that they aro at liberty to kill
my policeman who intorferes with thom or
attempts to stop them in. their war
against tho community. This will bo
the direct effect Of any clemoncy at this time;
and, in addition to this, 1t will so weaken the
efficiency Of the police force TINT tho commu-
nifty will bo moro than over exposed to the bru-
tality OF these rufllans. In what wo hnyo said,
We have indicated to Gov. Doveridgo tho senti-
mont Of the peaceful aud law-abidipg eitizons Of
Chicago. and thoy will expect Of him in this
emergency that ho will not set himaolf above
public sentiment, nor above tho decision OF the
highest legal tribunal in tho State, but will allow
Justice to take it's course.