Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1882-02-11
moss CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
PREVENT MURDER

y
"when I went into the JAIL" said an
ex.jailer OF San Francisco. "there were
twenty-five red-handed murdsrers in the
institution. aud there was hardly q man
OF them that ought not TO have been
dangling from o ~gallows. That was
more than a year ego. and Lot one OF the
gang has yet stretched h~emp."--Sdn
francisco Chronicle.
In view Of the fact that by the laws OF
California the crime of murder Is pun.
ishabls by death. the above quotation
naturally suggests the query: Does cap
ital punishment prevent murder? In San
Francisco. with . population Of little Q
800, 600 persons. it appears that at one
time there we're wsnty-two murdsrsrs con.
husd 10 its Jail. Thisfac. tends to show
that either the death penalty for murder
does not prevent the commission OF that
crime. or that perhaps, owing to some
local cause, the vicious element In San
Francisco does not entertain Q whole
some dread Of the law. Delays Of trial
for murder in that city. and the eonss-
quent uncertainty Of p%unishmsnt, may
perhaps operate to remove restraint from
murdsrously inclined persons to that de-
gree that the question whether capital
punishment prevents murder cannot be
fairly determined there.
But do iacts sustain the assertion that
capital punishment detsrs men from the
commission OF crime slsswhere2 The
State Of Nevada has always had capital
punishment laws on its statute books.
and most certainly this State. with q
population never exceeding 10000. can.
not DO cited to prove the assertion that
capital punishmsnt prevents crime
And It may be fairly presumed that sta
tistics upon tho question would show
that NO State in the Union that has cap
ital punishment laws on its statute books
can boast Of q greater immunity from
crime than is committed In those States
where there are no death penalty laws.
Some years since the Governor OF Wis
consin in his annual address said thai
emo State can boast greater exemption
from murder than Wisconsin, though
the State has abolished capital punish
ment." For the first two years sitsl
the abolition Of the death penalty II
Iowa but ten murders we're committed
In that State, and at that time Iowa had
q population Of over 1000. 900. In
recent article published in the Nort1
American Rsrisic. Wendell Phillips says;
"That capital Punishment is not abso'
lutely necessary for the protection OF So
cisty is proved by the amplsst tesiimo.
n.y.; and tha, several States prove. by
their experience. that life and property
are safer with no death penalty threat
ened or inflicted. than in the neighboring
. countries which use the death penalty"
But. II capital punishment laws do not
prevent tho commission OF crime they
have frequently prevented convictions
for murder. simply because OF the threat.
ened penalty. Most persons doubtless
remember cases in their own experience
where some tender-hearted juror, who
believed that the prisoner on trial ought
not to be hanged. refused to agree will
the other eleven jurors upon . verdict o.
guilty. while il the greatest punishment
known to the law for murder had beer
confinement In prison for life. the sym
pathetic juror would have agreed will
the others upon q verdict Of suilty-
It is presumed that tho object OF pun
ishment to criminals by society Is Il
prevent the commission Of crime, not Il
wreak vengeance upon them. hence II
can DO shown that capital punishment
does not prevent murder. the way h
opened for 4 consideration OF tho ques
ton. what other means shall DO adopted
to prevent 1t, and to lessen crime gen
orally?