The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-09-05
PUNIsHMENrs AND PARDoNs.

Professor Wayland, of Yale law
school, would be bad man on the
bench-that is to say, bad for crimi-
mails. In his address before the
Social Science convention on Mon
day he approved of hanging and
favored perpetual imprisonment.
Both these punishmen are open to
objection, and strong arguments
can be presented against them. One
thing is certain-neither is humani-
tartan, and neither looks to the re-
clamation or redemption of the
criminal. There must be instances
when crime is committed in the
heat of passion, and the perpetrat0r
is not criminal at heart. In those
cases reasonable punishment is all
that society should demand. Re
Yenge is no part of the law, and the
nearer we approach to it the nearer
we get to barbarism and cruelty, Of
which the law should know
nothing in theory or practice.
1t has always been a question in
the minds of many great thinkers
whether society had the right to in
flict capital punishment, though it
assumes its exercise partly because
it has the power and partly for the
reason that it is vindictive and
'ful. 1t hangs men in re-
ned nner, as the Salt Lake L Ob
the other day hung sthe negro Har-
yey in a brutal way. The same
motives that excited the mob inn
pels the community to strangle its
victim. If man were to steal
society would not assume the legal
or moral right to kill him; it would
simply infict reasonable. not spite
full punishment, and then encour-
age the thief to become a good citi-
zen, feeling that it had done its
duty to the individual and before
heaven. If a man kill another and
there is no likelihood that he will
repeat his crime, is society made
better by hanging the murderer. All
the community has the right
to demand is that the Grim
inal be punished, and thereafter
society be reasonably we'll protected
from him. The matter Of capital
punishment is deserving of more
consideration and attention than
legislators have eyer bestowed upon
it.
Professor Wayland, whatever
may be his cruel views in regard to
hanging and perpetual imprison-
ment, touches upon another branch
of the subject, making wise sug-
gestion though carrying it too far.
This latter, however, might be ex-
pected from one who is rank ex-
tremist as Wayland is acknowledged
to be. He wants a constitutional
provision making release from con-
finement impossible until before the
court in which the prisoner was con-
Victcd his innocence shall be estab-
lished. This is not what is wanted,
for it would be equivalent to abol-
ishing the pardoning power without
providing anything in its place.
Not one convicted person in a hun
dred could prove his innocence, for
the very best of reasons-not one
innocent person in a hundred is
convicted of crime. If innocence
could be established at all,
it must naturally be at
the time when all the
facts are most likely to be
known, and fresh in the minds of
witnesses and the court. Reform
is needed in the matter Of pardons,
but not hekind of reform suggested
by Wayland. We want the reform
that will prevent too sympathetic
or corrupt executives issuing par
dons Unfortunately, opening
penitentiary gaUes freely and turn
ing criminals of all grades loose
upon the community. We want the
reform that makes it impossible for
a criminal to obtain his liberty until
he shows reasonable hopuo of repent
ance, and gives fair promise of be-
an ordinarily safe and law
member of society.
Fanatics and extremists are rarely
if ever wise counselors, and Pro-
fessor Wsyland seems to be amono-
in the matter of punish
GoOd booItb T0cv obanlyc opd