The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-07-07
THE CRIME OF MURDER

The daily press teens with descriptions
ST horrible murders, coming from every
quarter. 1t would seem to be a mania con
fined to no particular locality. or atiribut-
able to no one cause. One day the
details are given of the killing in cool pre-
meditation of some victim, apparently for
gam or pluuder-then again come the sick
ening details of the slaughter of whole
family --defenseess women and helpless
children. Then perhaps, for some fancled
wrong an individual shoots down a victim
in the public streets Of a great city. SO
bold has become this invading spirit, that ii
enters even the temple of Justice, and he
who with an Independent spirit stands be-
fore Judge and jury to present the claims
OF his client, with that criticism 50 com
mon in the profession, when the attorney
becomes the mark for a villains pistol
for naught but the performance of a
professional duty SO on every hand does
the crime of murder increase with such
rapid strides, until the community stands
fearful of who may be the next victim.
The underlying cause seems ineXplicable,
and the question is being asked whether
there are not habitual murderers or habltual
perpetrators of crime in other directions.
Another fearful phase of the subject is
the seeming inability to convict and more
especially to punish with the penalties pro-
vided by law, the murderer But few
days since judge in the city of New
York, in the Gill murder case, remarks
that there is little hope of conviction of n
high crime in the city of New York
where the penalty IS death This senti-
ment is becoming prevalent outside of New
York, and will so continue until the jury
box is purified of ignorant men and their
places supplied with intelligent citizens,
who have the confidence of the people and
can be trusted to discriminate Justly and
fairly between truth and fiction, even
though they do keep pace with the current
news of the day by the reading of the
newspaper Our judges oft-timcs seem to
act upon the supposition that none but an
ignorant man is fitted for the jury box III a
capital case. We are aware that every man
has a right to a trial by his peers-but are
all murderers ignorant they may be brutal
but they are not all ignorant. OF course
many of the murders are committed by
individuals of low british instincts. In
such cases the deed is perpetrated in such
manner as to at once indicate the standard
OF the mental calbre of the murderer, In
a majority of instances the modern murder
prove in the sequel TO have been com
mlted by men of more than average intel
ligence although the wisest leave trail
behind them that leads to their conviction,
if not always TO their punishment.
We are among those who believe that in
telligence in the jury box is one of the
remedies of the failure to punish the crime
of murder. Men who have become con
versant with this great crime--by an every
day reading of ii as chronicled in the pub
lie press should compose the panels
Let us have the jury box filled
with the names of men of good Judgment
considerable men, who sustain their iudg-
ment aud consistency with at least average
Intelligence. Let our law makers take ac-
ton in this matter; let our judges ceast
pandering TO tho ignorant element of so.
ciety in criminal tlials-and ascertain il
the evils now 80 apparent cannot be rene
died.
In our own state at least there Is Il res
possibility resting in this matter upon thu
authorities who are charged with the selec
ton of names for the jury box. Too Otter
they assemble in corner, make selection
from the list Of their paltizans or imme
date friends without canvass even for
moment of their qualifications for tho
duties liable TO be imposed upon them
Sometimes selections are made in joculai
manner-without n thought of the con
sequences of the act. In county in thi,
state within few years it is creditably re
ported the selections for the jury box il
each town in that county were MANIPULATED
by a single individual with a view o.
reaching case to come on for trial in TIT
county court at the next session. TIL,
trial came on and the packing of the jury
box accomplished its purpose. We be
lieve in the trial by jury, but when cor
ruption creeps in, ii is grave question
whether it should longer exist, The jury
box can be purified far better than the bal