Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-10-04
TIE DEAra PENALTY.
Various Means of Executing 1t
A Field fer Science.

uIUpt says lub lOuuUu Itltkidpus
The law provides merely that man
shall be hanged by the neck till he is
dead, and the details Of the execution
are left to the discretion Of the officials
in immediate charge OF the wretcbed
rite. Marwood. believing that he was
improving upon the art Of homicide,
introduced as is known, the use of
greater length Of cord, insuriDg. as he
believed, a more certain rupture Of
the spinal cord, and therefore, he
argued, more certain death. That he
was right is very doubtful at best, for
it is surmised that though the phe-
nomena of death may be present, life
may not be actually extinct, and that,
though below the head all signs OF
existence may have fed, the brain and
nerves may still be sentient But OF
this dreadful theory enough. Suffice
it to say that mishaps such as make
memory sicken to recall, often hap
pen, and that though Marwood had
his way, it is not at all certain that his
victims died more rapidly or painless
ly than before. At any rate, it is
beyond doubt that in some other coun-
tries modes of execution prevail
which are superior 10 certainty and
mereifulness to our own In
Spain, for instance, where the blind
folded criminal feels nothing
but the sndden tightening Of
the steel collar that binds him 10
pole, aud draws lis last breath with
the gasp he gives under the turn OF
the garroting screw. In France, too,
they have the guillOtine, which is
swift and unerring; but in England
there is general aversion to method
of execution which literally requires
that the blood OF those who shed blood
shall in turn be shed, and the French
knife therefore, with its awful acces
series, and still more horrible associa>
tons, is never likely to be tolerated.
la the East, notably in China and
Japan, execution is as humane as,
perhaps, it can be made, for the VIC
tim, with his eyes bandaged, is struck
before he thinks his time has come,
and the ponderous blade, with its razor
edge, shears off the heads of the
doomed with a precision that is
amazing But the tendency of civil
zstion has been 10 remove the actual
fact of one man killing another as
much as possible from publicity by
thrusting some mechanism between
the two, as if to mske it seem that the
Interpolation of a medium modified
the act At one time the exeeutioner
seized the piuioned convict with his
hands and strangled him inst as if be
we're himself the murderer. That
time, however, has passed, and SO VIZ
use scaffold, with trap door and .
hanging rope, to make believe to our,
selves, as it were, that in SO putting I
human being to death we are not actu.
ally making fellow mortal commit the
deed. In the case OF MsrwoOd, how,
ever, there was no need oil such deli
cacy, for he spoke with pride Of the
part that his iron muscles and knuck lei
took 10 the execution, referring TO the
men whom justice had at last made
over to him to do his worst upon as il
they had been personal antagonists
This astonishing type Of character
must be very rare indeed, for, even
among the vast majority who still
rightly insist upon retaining capita
punishment in our criminal code Al
the supreme penalty for the greatest
OF ofieuses against humanity, there arc
very few who would not if they coulC
mitigate the pain attending the muir
derer's doom. Society is revensed
upon the convict in his expectancy O.
death. The manner OF 1t probabl,
does not affect him 10 the least. Blu
it is while he is waiting Tor the hauC
to strike that the man who cannot b,
forgiven on this side Of the grave paw
to his kind the penalty Of his crime
and it matters not q jOt whether tn,
hand hold a rife, an ak, or a rome
And it is the knowledge of the fac
that the apprehension OF his fate is Oh,
real punishment OF the assassin that 4
perpetually leading the thoughtfu
to discuss the question Of merciiu
forms Of execution. The rife is
bungling instrument at best, for nov
are we to steady the hands and eyes o
the men who step out at the word Of
corporal, to shoot down comrade b,
word Of command2 The ak again, a
history tolls us, loses its edge in IA,
grasp Of sympathetic exeeutioner
and, though we can subsidize III,
hands OF men who strike the blow
what hire can we give to hearts thal
they shall cease TO beat piulully. anC
so unnerve the arms that are alread
in our psy2 The rope. too, has beef
proved again and again, even in tn,
congenial hands of the dead hangman
a laundering means Of torture. |
catches upon elbows, slaekebs in tb
wrong places, or breaks when an Of,
cord is used or the strain has beel
wrongly calculated No wonder, there
fore, that humanity, scandalized a
such mishaps, should still cast abou
for some other means Of fulfilling IN.
last demands OF justice.
Nor surely should science be upabl,
to provide the means. For. apar
from the various methods which com
mend themselves to specialists. Their,
are others whereby instantaneou
death can be assured We might cite
tor example, execution by lightning
which electricity seems to have place,
within our power. When the writer o
the Coming Race" imagined the won
d RS OF vial, aud showed Us the exc
eutioners Of the Ana destroying thl
doomed by a touch Of the terribl
staff, he may really have been pointinI
out, as he does in so many other ia
stances, direction in which scienc
has yet to work great reform. sino
in the magnetic current we have un
doubtedly life taking Weapon that /
quite as formidable as will. Their
could be no bungling, no chance OF th
nerves giving way for death would fol
low the completion OF the circuit a
completely and swiftly as under
lightning fash, and thus. without an
of.the dreaded accessories now attend
ing public executions, justice woul,
be satisfied aud the last penalty paid
The suggestion is. At all events, wortl
consideration in those high quarter
where such serious matters are settled
and we put 1t before them as a possbl
mode Of rapid punishment which
admitting of few chances Of failure
would spare the shock now sometime
inflicted on public feelings. How an,
by what means the mysterious potenc,
could be employed, If at all, remain
for electricians TO decide; but enougl
is already known to suggest a hoTI
that the rope as an instrument Of exc
cution may before very long be dis
used, even II Marwood Is not 10 be thi
last Of our common hangmen.