Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1883-09-07
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
As Opposed TO Imprisonment for
Life Of Criminals.
Professor Francis WayIand's Views Ex-
pressed Before the Saratoga Social
Science Association.

Science Association,
At the annual meeting Of the Ameri-
can Social Science Association at Sara
toga, the opening address was delivered
by Professor Francis Wayland, of the
Yale College Law School, who is the
president of the association. His sub
tect was Capital Punishment" and he
spoke in part as follows:
BY the very nature Of the social COM
pact society is bound to afford the am
plest possible protection to human life.
Does capital punishment give such pro-
lection? 1t is said that one objection in
visiting crime with penalty is to deter
Others from committing similar Of
tense. Does capital punishment act as
such deterrent? Does its existence on
the statute book tend to strengthen or to
weaken public respect for law? We
shall be materially aided in these in
uuiries by reliable statistics from two
states not second to any in our Union
for general intelligence. respect for law
and love of soci..i order. l refer to
Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
Le' Us See What the Facts are.
beginning with Massachusetts, We find
/ that during the years from 1860 to 49,,
| both inclusive emitting all cases which
are not actually passed upon by juries),
there were one hundred and seventy
| trials for murder in the first degree.
| Twenty-nine personswere convicted OF
the crime as charged. Twelve of the
! twenty-nipe had their death sentences
| committed to Imprisonment for life.
| Sixteen of the seventeen whose SEN
fences were not COMMITTED were hung,
| and one committed suicide before the
| day fixed for execution. Intwenty-siX
| cases verdiCtS of murder in the second
J degree were rendered. In the neigh
| boring Commonwealth of Connecticut,
| during the thirty years from January |.
| 1850 TO January !, 1880, niuety-seven
| persons were tried for murder i'll the
first degree. Thirteen were convicted
| of murder i'm the first degree. In six of
| the cases the sentence was committed
] To Imprisonment for life. Seven were
| executed. Forty-twO were convicted of
! murder in the second degree. Seven
| were acquitted on the sole ground Of in
| sanity. There are
Instructive Statistics
from New Haven county covering the
same period OF time. For the thirty
years preceding the year 1850 the mum
Der of trials for murder in the first de-
gree was twtnty-thrce. Ia one ease the
| sentence was committed to imprisOn-
ment for life. Two Were hanged. Three
were acquitted on the sole ground of
! insanity. Nine were convicted of MUIR
der in the second degree. During the
| same period the number of trials for the
| crime of burglary in the same county
was 500. Out of the 500 trials for bur-
! glary 273 resulted in convictions. In
| three cases the accused were acquitted
| on the ground of insanity. In 1852 the
| State of Rhode Island abolished the
| death penalty, substituting impriSon-
ment for life. It's most pOpulOuS cOun-
| ty is Providence. Turning to the records
| Of this county we find that during the
| thirty years next succeeding the date OF
| the abolition of capital punishment, out
of twenty seven trials for murder in the
first degree, there were seven cOnvic-
tons; considerably more than fifty per
cent.
Death Penalty Not Properly Enforced,
Ifit be true that there are states in
which statistics would show n larger
proportion of cases in which the death
penalty has been inflicted, 1t Is also true
hat are States i'm which the proportion
is very much smaller. On the whole II
may we'll be questioned whether fairer
average could be presented than III the
States from which our illustrations have
been drawn. If this conclusion be cor
rect, it seems to follow that the death
penalty is not so enforced in our times
and in this country rs to afford
Adequate Protection 20 Human Life.
The only legitimate objects to be accom-
plished by any form OF penalty for the
crime of murder are: First, TO incapaci-
tate the convicted criminal from doing
society any further injury; and
secondly, to deter others from fol-
lowing his example. But, as we have
seen, q tti-l for murder means, with
infreQuent exceptions, sentence to I'M
prisonment for life, and imprisonment
for life means, according to the most re-
liable estimates, confinement for from
twelve to fourteen years. The medical
report of the State prison at Auburn,
y. y, for fifty years previous to 1855,
gives instructive figures on this point.
During this period PA persons were
committed to that prison under life sem
fences. Ofthese, thirty-fOur died from
natural causes, eight became insane,
two committed suicide, one escaped,
and ten were transferred TO other
prisons; leaving l59 to be accounted
Tor. OF these, twenty-nine remained
in the prison at the date of the report,
and one hundred and thirty-fOur had
been pardOned, their average period OF
servitude having been six years and six
months.
In view Of such facts as these the
statement does not seem extraTagant
that Imprisonment for life Is, TO all
intents and purposes,
An Unknown Punishment In this
Country"
And it is very important that we bear
in mind that verdicts of murder in the
| second degree as q substitute for the
| death penalty are rendered with a full
knowledge ofthe probable consequences
we have described. When, therefore,
| juries are thus resolute in declining to
send murderers to the gallows, and the
pardOning power is thus lavishly exer-
cised, it is difficult to see how society is
protecting human life by incapacitating
the criminal from repeating his crime.
We have now to consider in the Sec
ond place, the deterrent effect of the
death penalty in the light of such sta
| tiStics as we have been examining.
Those who argue that the punishment
of death does terrify may be challenged
to answer this single question. Suppose
a man intent on murder were eontiden-
tally informed by 3 discreet friend,
with due apologies for the interruption,
that, if he pulled the fatal trigger, or
administered the deadly poison, he
might be detected; that If he did not es-
cape he would be arrested! that after
probable delay Of some months he
would be brought TO to trial.