The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1878-05-08
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT,


Much Is being said by the press Of the
tate on the subject Of Furnishing GRIM
nails, In many instances direct issue
With tho courts and iuries has been
made by tho press for the lenienoy
with which the latter has dealt with
.he murdererson trial beioreor them,
md while there has been grounds for Just
indignation At the way some Of the red
handed murderers have escaped the
gallows, the juriea should not DO blamed.
The fault lies IN the teehnoaltes OF
proof pleading and proceedings, as II Is
expressed by the sherman Patriot,
That paper, In wellNwvltten editorial
on the trial and conviction Of Allen
Mathis, who was sentenced 10 the
penitenllmy ninety-nine years for COM
hitting murder OF "the foullest grade
takes occasion TO express lls ops
position TO capital punishment
Aller reciting the details of the
sickenlng crime Of the murder Of
Mr. Mechanic, In which Mathis il
printed in colors which lead TO the
belief that he Is u young demon in
human form, tho Patriot proceeds to
say;
"As soon az his sentence is pros
nounced, he will be removed forever
from among w lie may oven be
regarded, and he IL 80 by law in many
countries, az absolutely dead 10 the
world, The nature of his subsequent
life will be almost M little known M II
he had passed beyond the river His
voice will never be heard TO tell Of the
misery he has endured and never will
he 90 forth TO tell what he has suffered,
And what IL better than all, he il not
beyond the reach of official clemency
If circumstances or proofs in after years
shall mitigate his ollense or modify his
guilt, For one, we are glad that no
gibbet, with its dangling corpse to scare
evil doors will very soon (and we wish
IL might be neyor) stand M beacon TO
mark the progress of civilization in our
own loved, beautiful Grayson no ghnst'
ly spectacle OF an execution paradod
before promiscuous audience 10 ren-
der the public mind in many instances,
callous, in Others more refined am
guishod by the frequency Of the occur
renee,
a life sentence TO the penitentiary IL
certainly severe punishment and to
some natures death itself would be
preferable but the midnight assassin
tho thug, the bestiNl murderer IL
appalled, only by the gibbct with it,
dangling corpse" A life sentence il
the peniteutiary, with this class
OF criminals, too often ends in escap,
or pardon, when if he were made N
example of by hanging by the necl,
until he be deOd, il the proof, belor,
n jury OF his counhymen, justIe,
it under the law, that wouli be th,
end of his depravity, the majesty OF
the law would be upheld other crimi
nails would quake in thor boots so
ciety would be benefited by Kidding
the world of an enemy, and crime would
diminish in proportion to the number
of times the act were repeated,
"'rhe public in Texas to>day seems
to have no confidence that the worst
criminal will be punished unless it be 9
horsethief The worst criminals at al
times here have good reasons to hop,
Tor an escape In every part Of oul
country there is prevalent idea that
certain men of legal skill, can oXtricate
offenders without regard to the merits
of their case"
Remarks the Patriot, yet there is an
inconsistency in the doctrine advocated
by the Patriot, when based upon the
above facts, which we fail to understand
Should capital punishment be abolished
theoretically Git isalmost practically Out
of vogue in this state, mores the pity
we cannot see how the state of affairs
pictured by the Patriot is to bettered
Life terms in the penitentiary certainly
will not stop the crime of murder prey
alent in Texas. The experience of all
new states and countries like ours
where il has been difficult to maintain
the letter OF the law by reason of sparse
population and general looseness Of
morals shows that when the law does
| take hold OF its enemies extreme PEN
alties must be inflicted to accomplish
much good, Petty crimes are not SO
much OF consideration that capital
punishment for foul murder is to be
dropped or overlooked in ailixing pen
alties for the suppression of that class of
criminals, The whipping. post is res
ceiving some attention as remedy for
petty crime, while murder, robbery and
assassination is not as prominent in the
minds OF the people, which is perhaps
caused from the frequency with which it
is committed, We are emphatically
opposed to opening the question of the
whipping post as an issue in our state
politics until the higher grade of crimi
nails has been disposed of and checked.
The whipping.post is not the remedy,