The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1883-05-24
PUBLIC EXECUTIONS.

The sentiment in Georgia seems
to be eliminating in strong Opposi-
tiou to public hangings. The NOR
bid curiosity that sctuates three or
four thousand people to abandon
work and swarm like insects around
the gallows to see the sickening and
revolving sight Of an unfortunate hu-
man being hung by the ueck until
be is dead, should not be encouraged
or grati6ed by the Judges Of our
Superior Courts, who pass sentence
on the condemned, making the exc
cution public instead of private. -
The horrible spectacle of putting q
man to death on the gibbet, seems
to be as great an attraction as q cir.
Gus or a horse race, aod the crowds
come forty and fifty miles, suspend
business, bringing along the chill
dred, also baskets of provisions, and
have q regular picnic frolic. They
follow the poor criminal to the scene
of his death, jesting and laughing,
and many drinking snd cursing,
forgetting they are 10 a funeral pro.
cession. The hanging OF the wife
murderer Jones, in Lexington, Ca,
las. Friday, seems to have been &C.
companied with sickening conduct,
if the following recital from the
Athens Banner. Waterman is c"r>
rect. That paper says:
We were surprised to see so many white
women at the hanging-sOme of them well
dressed and who came in nice vehicles. We
watched them attentvely, to see if their
faces banched or that they showed any
signs Of sympathy. They witnessed with
unmoved faces all the minute of the horri;
bic affair, and seemed to be really less affect
ed than the men. One rustic beauty to Sc.
cure II better view, climbed TO the top of a
pine sappling and perched upon its topmOst
bough complacently drank in the scene.
There was once rush made for the invit-
ing shade of that particular tree--the crowd
headed by Judge Gillian and two reporters
and tor while this new attraction threat.
encd TO detract all interest from the execu
q, rba frir RI tttob bad has Il hos
feet and gazed down upon the enraptured
audience as would queen upon her throne.
We were not surprised at the negroes but
;ould only feel contempt for a white man
who would come TO witness So solemn a
scene as the death Of a fellow>being and
then get beastly drunk You saw drunken
men on every hand, and one white wo-
man (but be il said to the credit of Ogle
thorp she was strangely lying under tree
on the street Even at the closing scene
we saw white man stretched full length on
the ground in view of the scaffold. There
was no fighting, however, and we never
saw larger crowd conduct themselves in O
better manner This dcbauchery does u way
with the argument that public execution
has tendency to deter crime. They are
looked upon as a free show. and encourage
more law breaking than is checked by the
example. Let our next Legislature pass au
act requiring the penalty to be inflicted pri
vstely. The hanging last Friday cost the far
mers of Oglethorp at least $40 900 in loss Of
labor alone at a most critical time in crops
not counting the other expenses incident tC
this sickening scene Of death and drunken
revelry.
The certainty aud ignominy OF
the death is the same, whether in
public or private, and We are in
favor of private execution of Grim
inals, if death must be their portion
for violation Of law.