The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-08-18
The Folly of Abol1shing Capital Pun
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The Folly of Abol1shing Capital Pun
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(From the Chicago Tribune.
Again comes the old, old story, from
Iowa, OF violence, assault, rape, murder
and other crimes, the most of them 90.
ing unpublished. Fifty-seven cases of
rape this summer and only three convic-
tions! Six murders during the last
month, and not one Of the murderers will
be hanged-perhaps not one of them will
be punished! And all this time the silly
sentimentalists Of the Bovee school are
appealing for mercy for the murdcrers,
and have no sympathy for the
murdered, no word Of comfort for
the friends and relatives of the
victims, no demand for the protection of
society against the passions and malevo.
lence Of murdcrers. The chief cause of
this fearful avalanche Of crime in Iowa is
the abolition Of capital punishment.
This applies to murder, but, from the
prevalence Of other crimes. it would
almost seem that all punishment had
been abolished. AS the result of this
abolition Of capital punishment, there is
to-day no check or restraint upon the evil
passions of men: But, say the sentimen.
talists, punish the murderer by imprison-
ing him for life. This is light dcterring
influence to a man grown 50 vicious
Or so desperate as to deliberately
take the life of his fellow man, and even
were it a punishment, it is nulliicd
by the fact that statistics prove the muir.
derer will be pardoncd before his term
expires, and will be let loose to prey upon
society again. The very name 'Peniten-
tiary' does not imply punishment, but
repentance, and, as rule, repentance,
whether real or feigned. is followed by
pardon. The murderer, therefore, at the
very outset, if he should be so unfortun.
ate as to TIC convicted, instead of eScap-
ing by technicalities, as the most of them
do, knows that he will go to prison with
the prospect Of pardon sooner or later
lie knows that in the penitentiary he
will only have to work moderately hard,
that he will be well fed with good snb-
stantial food, that he will also be we'll
clothed. that he will have a physic an
when he is sick, that he will have
his Sundays to himself, that fresh
privileges will grow out of them.
and that he will be allowed association
with his fellows in other words, that he
will enjoy condition Of life which, in
most respects. is preferable to his ordi.
nary condition, and that he will be no
worse off in prison than he is out of it,
but, ON the other hand, better. To as
sert that this is punishment for r.urder
is the height of absurdity. To assert
that it has adequate restraint upon the
commission of crime is disproved by tho
increase Of crime since hanging in Iowa
was abolished. The only restraint upon
the murderously disposed is the certainty
that he will be publicly hanged by he
neck until he is dead if he takes the life
of his fellow, and that the punishment is
as sure to come as the sun is to rise or
set. He must know that this punishment
will be sure, that there IS no appeal from
il, and no hope of pardon. This is not a
cruelty, as the sentimentalists claim;
and, even if it were, it is infinitely less
cruel than the murderer's odious crime.
1t is simple justice, and the only adequate
compensation that can be made. It is
measure of safety which it IS the duty of
the Courts to promptly take, 50 that So
clety may be protected, and there is no
protection in any other form of punish
ment for murder. Imprisonment offers
premium for murder, as is shown by the
news from Iowa. The only hope and pro.
lection for the people of that State is in
the re-erecticn Of the gallows and its Wig
orous use. 1t is time they abandoned
their costly and dangerous experiment of
tampering with the sanctity Of human
life. 1t is time that they ceased to listen
to the emotional vaporings of silly men
and women sentimentalists pleading for
immunity for murdcrers.