Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-01-06
SENATOR JoHNsoN's MURDER BILL.

Senator Grove L. johnson has intro
duced bill which at first sight may be
regarded as a grim piece of POPULARITY,
but which reflection will show to be very
apropos to the present state of public
opinion. as exemplifed in the treatment of
homicides. Mr.. Johnson's bill provides
that call punishments for murder, except
q that committed in the preparation OF or
81 attempt to perpetrate, arson, rape. rob-
e berry, burglary or mayhem, shall be
'' abolished save as hereinafter provided. "
The second section provides that the life
of the murderer shall be forfeited to the
relatives of the victim, and the third Sec
ton authorizes them to slay the murderer
at any time within two years from the
date of the crime, save in the case of
minors, to whom this limitation shall not
apply. If this seems absurd to anyone
they have only to examine the actual state
of affairs in regard to murder to realize
that the law here proposed is in no re-
spect more barbarous than the usage of
California society as illustrated by the
record of our Criminal Courts. 1t is an
incontrovertible fact that this community
has practically ceased to treat murder
as crime. Within the past ten
or fifteen years almost every con-
ceivable form OF homic;dal atroc-
ity has been condoned by California
juries. Nomatter how cruel, cold blooded,
wanton or brutal the crime, it has been
found possible to impanel juries which
would acquit the murderer. More than
this, in the rare instances in which muir
derers have been convicted and sentenced
to death they have been made the objects
of sympathy and adulation not less
amazing than disgusting. Women and
clergymen have We'd with one another in
exhibiting morbid and gushing tender
ness for the callous wretches whose lives
were justly forfeit to the law, and the exc
cutions of the mu-derers have been con.
verted into theatrical scenes In which the
special representatives of what are sup
posed to be the higher sentiments of
society have thrown all the weight of their
influence against the law and on behalf of
the law breakers. It is nonsense under
these circumstances to put forward the
theory that it is the particular juries con-
cerned which are alone culpable. If the
sentiment of the community was healthy
juries would not thus continually acquit
murderers. Nor is the superficial indigna.
ton which passes like a ripple over public
opinion when some peculiarly fragrant
crime is thus condened, an evidence to the
contrary. This spasnodic sentiment has
no depth, or it would long since have
made itself felt to some purpose in the
Courts. 1t is in truth but passing qualm,
the force of which may be represented
by single burst of expostulation from
the press. One such volley is fired
usually after every failure of justice, but
when that is done all interest in the sub
ject ceases, and the public proceed in quest
of fresher sensations, and think any recur
renee to the past bore There is, more
over, powerful and prevalent belief in
the right of men to kill one another under
certain circumstances. It does not enter
the heads of most people that the purpose
of the law is to replace and abolish the
old barbarous code of indiscriminate slaugh-
ter. 1t is evident that the sentiment which
formerly led to the hanging of men on sus-
picion of horse stealing is not dead yet,
and that in fact California is in this re-
spect very far from being civilized State