Claiborne guardian. [volume] (Homer, La.) 1877-188?, 1879-08-27
Defeating Justice.

There IS no one tnlnE COnHtCtcu
with the body polite at the present
time that, in our judgement. more
seriously threatens the security and
welfare of society and the continued
existence of our tree institutions
than the increasing difficulty of Sc
curing the administration of laws OF
the land, especially those enacted
TO prevent aud punish crime. Hu-
man laws are not intended to lie
vindictivp, in the common sense OF
that term. They are designed ~ u
warning TO evil.docrs and "a prctec-
ton to them that do well. and to
secure this end they have penalties
attached to them. Only when the
interest of the conmunity--nOt the
interests of the crlminal-demand
or allow it, can these penalties be
set aside without endangrring the
very frame work of society. We
look with increasing alarm upon the
growing tendency To the shbrersion
Of Justice in nearly if not quite all
the departments entrusted with the
administration OF our criminal
laws.
To begin with the beginning. Ev.
cry city in the land has it's police
department, organized tor the pre-
yention of crime aud the detection
and apprehension of those who VIC
late law, and every police officer ~
sworn To the faithful discharge of
his duty. But not to speak of the
great extent to which the police
department in our cities is made n
mere tool in politics, II is n well
known fact that the police often he
come the protectors ot those who
violate the laws, instead of being
the protectors Of snririy. They NJ
tcrly ignore whole classes of otlcnscs
that occur under their own eyes,
and allow offenders to 20 on with.
out fear of arrest. In numerous
eases of this character the fault is
far more with the higher officers Of
the department than with the rank
and file, who are supposed To obey
the orders of their superiors, but
the facts ia the ease are im'lispntable,
wherever the fault may lie.
The Grand Jury is one palladium
of Justice. which has hitherto nj.
most escaped suspicious, but the
Grand JURY and its decisions are al
most wholly within the power OF
the District Attorney, who. rs the
appointed legal counsellor, orcu.
pies u far more controlling position
than is generally supposed. We
do not believe there is practically
any more autocratic officer under
the United States or the State gov.
crnmcnts than the District Attor.
ncy. and we know that there are
classes of crimes which, Tor the
want of its exercise, fail Ia go he
yond the first stage, that of for
NAL legal complaint. lunumcrablc
eases do not come before the Grand
Jury and never put in the way of
coming To trial. When bills are
found, through the same maripula
ton they are put oil from tenn to
term, until witnesses are ont of the
way, or until the trial and convic
tion of offenders lose all their moral
effect upon the community and upon
the criminal classes.
The conviction of offenders, even
when they are brought tn trial aud
when the evidence against them is
clear and conclusive, is becoming
more and more difficult, So that no
matter what the crime OF what the
proof Of guilt, the public have come
to look upon the trial of many cans
es more rs II farce than rs the sol.
emu administration of law and jus.
tice. 1t is often the work of days
to secure u jury 81 lacking in intel.
ligencc rs not To have read the pub.
lie journals, or SO lacking in decis
ion of character as not 10 have
formed any Judgment in regard tn
notorious crimes. And then such n
latitude is allowed in reSorting 10
legal bubbles and such an over
strained and absurd pressing OF the
plea of insanity in all important
eases, that there is hope for every
criminal that he will escape through
the meshes of the law or the mesh
es of the court. Even when con
viction takes place, it is no assur
ance, and scarcely presumption
that punishment will follow. The
courts now, for some reason, We
know not what, allow so many ser
rors" to take place in the trial Of
cases, that a writ Of error has com,
to be almost a matter of course, ant
every man that is convicted de
mands to be tried over aud owe