The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1884-01-17
ICincinnati Commercial Gazette.1
INCREASE OF BRUTAL CRIMES.
The increase of atrocious crimes

The increase Of atrocious crimes i
appalling, especially of murder ant
rape, and Of this in its most horrible
degree, that Of children. The increast
Of brutal crimes is far greater than oi
population. This Is peculiar to the
United States, for criminal statistic:
Of Great Britain show no such grow
ing ratio. Public writers cudgel then
brains to account for it, and theil
causes and remedies are feeble-mindec
in unfitness But there is cause, anc
it stares all in the face, but they will
not see it. If all laws against the
worst crimes were repealed, the du}lest
mind would see the cause of the in
crease Of these crimes. Let society
ponder and consider whether our ad-
ministration Of law in these atrocious
crimes has not approached this effect
If they fud it so, they need not &C
about beating the bush for causes and
for schemes Of moral remedies.
The practice OF our Courts in cases
of great crimes has strangled the law.
The Courts have become instrumental
tiles to protect the guilty. The more
horrible the crime, the less likely to
conviction. The mischievous maxim
that it is better that ninety and nine
guilty persons be acquitted than that
one not guilty should be convicted,
has been pushed in practice to the ex-
tent that it is better that all the guilty
should escape than that one should be
punished. The public have no conf
dence that a murderer will be hanged
by the Court. They have no respect
for the administration Of law Why
should criminals have any fear of it?
The only real administration of JUS
tice in atrocious crimes is by Judge
Lynch. Why sh.uId it not execute
justice when the Courts have strangled
the law? In primitive state Of So
ciety it administers justice III this di-
rect and immediate way, the whole
community acting. When the society
becomes so large that the action of the
whole is impracticable, it delegates
this work to regular officers. When
these have broken down the law, why
should not the community resume its
rights? When criminal is taken
red-handed, and is promptly executed,
the end of the law is achieved. When
the captors hand him over to the Of
ficers, they have no assurance that the
law will be executed.
When a murderer is publicly taken
in the fact, and there is no question of
his guilt, the practice Of the Courts
outlaws the community, and makes
his crime the only thing lawful. A
maxim is that no penal law can be en-
forced without the support of pub
lie opinion; but the public opinion
that the murderer ought to be hanged
is held to disqualify the community
from supporting the law. It is ground
for shifting the trial to place where
the community has no opinion. The
justice Of the community is thus out
lawed; the security Of the red-handed
murderer is the only lawful object.
The moral effect Of punishment is lost
when it is separated from the crime
by long time and forgetting; yet the
regular practice is to put off the trial
Of horrible crimes till the public has
become unmindful And by this out
rage on justice, the fading memory Of
the witnesses in minor details gives
means to discredit them and confuse
jurors.
All this is immoral. It is a perver-
sion of the Courts to the defeat of
justice. 1t disappoints and disgusts
the public, and makes it regard the
judiciary as chicanery. 1t divests the
law of its terror to murderers Juries
are further means for defeating JUS
tice. The publicity of a horrible
crime gives all the intelligent an idea
Of its character, which, under the re-
fnements of our Courts, disqualifes
them. This reduces the not disquali-
fed to the most ignorant part of the
community. The fact Of Indictment
by a grand jury gives to any reason
able mind an impression that the ac-
cusation has good ground; but under
the kind of examination which is al
lowed, even this might be made dis
qualification.
At the best, trial by jury reduces
the administration Of law to absurdi-
ty. To remember, weigh and sift the
testimony in long trial, and to sepa-
rate the pertinent from the irrelevant, |
requires an expert in practice. The |
average jurors, even if they should be
of average intelligence, are incompe-
tent for this. The practice Of the de-
fense in notorious crime is to con-
fuse and divert their minds by multi
plying irrelevant testimony. It is
illegitimate, but the loose practice Of
politically elective Judges allow it.
When at length the person guilty of |
an atrocious crime is brought to trial,
details of time and circumstances have |
faded from the memory Of the eye
witnesses, and out of these an appear
ance Of conflict Of testimony is fabri !
Gated, to confuse ignorant jurors.
Nor is this the worst. A kind of |
criminal lawyers, as they are aptly |
called, will undertake to clear the most |
atrocious criminal, if he has money. |
or for the sake Of the trade notoriety, |
if he has no money, and will inten-
tionally go at witnesses to destroy
their character. In cases Of rape, the |
outraged woman and family must look
to have their characters dragged in |
the mire in the pursuit Of this trade |
Of a criminal lawyer. They may even
find it dangerous to be prosecuting
witnesses in cases Of rape Of children |
"A crime Of dreadful frequency. And |
by the delay, and repeated continuan
ces, and change Of venue, and the in
adequate support OF witnesses, the |
family of the murdered Or ravished /
may at least be driven in despair to
cease to cooperate with such cool |
prosecution.
If the criminal has property he can
gain law partner to use to clear him
every means that can be used without !
Loo cr,.ont rirl &c 4ln ;to,n