St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-06-16

Capital Punishment.

Murders are becoming alaIminglN fire.
quent in Vermont. and questions arise
is t" their cause and remedy. The first
We need not speak of for the motive Is
are the same through all time, but We
wish to dwell II little upon capital pun
ishmcnt, since il Is commonly thought
to he the most efficient plrrenter of the
crime of murder. Aud at the outset
We will SAY that We thoroughly dis
believe in hanging, either as Il pIevcnter
of crime or a. being necessary to satisfy
Justice. Now the object of all criminal
law l. the protection of society. Then
the result of that law, or punishment,
81 tar as society Is protected, Is nrct>-
sary and unsuitable, but if it is shown
that hanging does not protect society
better than amy other method of pun
ishment, it certainly follows that no
human law can Justify it. That society
is ;is safe with the murderer in prison
aS III his grave Is Selt-elidcnt.
Granting this, then, We must look for
some other generally accepted argu-
meut to sustain capital punishment.
We find it in the fear which an cNccu-
ton is supposed to exert on men. That
this is II shallow argument amy reader
of history and close observer of our uw II
times, even, will grant. Two centuries
l. Il a
crimes were punishable with death. Vet
clIuniclcrs are agreed that the Island
never Witnessed 50 many violations of
the very laws which drcrecd death.
Crime was every where rampant, and
the gibhet and axe We're always busy
but no one was deferred through fear
of them. On the contrary an opposite
effect seemed to bc the result. Only
the other day i'll Massachusetts. IL man
VIII" had Witnessed AN executions. went
away aud committed murder the same
day.
Murders are rarely premrditated Z;
they ale generally the effects of liquor
or sudden passion, and in face of well
known facts it is useless to say that
hanging will prevent crime. Life is too
sacred for human law to take, and until
it is held iuviolate then expect that
men will but follow the example set by
our Legislature. ''God gave life aud He
only can take it away" 1t is hardly
necessary to speak of the Mosaic law so
often quoted in defense of capital pun
ishment. We might follow with equal
reason, several other injunctions of the
same code, such as killing witches and
Staying oxen which have gored man.
We believe that men have no right
to take the life of Il human being as the
punishment of crime. and all this talk
ahOnt the necessity of hanging II man
to atone for the blood shed 10y him is
arrant nonsense. As if the murdered
man demanded Il life in return for his
own. or a. if any amount of hanging
could wipe ont Il crime against God !,
In fine the argument that Justice can he
and only is satisfied with death for
death" is to say the least. absurd and
untenahe.
There Is another consideration which
law should have in view. and that is the
reformation of the criminal This is by
no means ii minor end. and we hail the
discussion of this question in the late
Prison Reform Convention in New York
City rs ii beginning of better days for
the work of our state prisons. This
matter has been neglected too long al
ready. and statistics show that released
prisoners are in most cases. as bad us
ever, and that crime is hereditary
There is no danger that mulderers sen
fenced for life will be pardoued unless
thoroughly reformed and if reformed
there is no Ieason why they should not
he released. The experiment of states
which have substituted imprisonment
for life for capital punishment, has been
most satisfactory i'll every respect, and