Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-01-24
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
The Old Question Discussed Anew by
Physician.

FbfStCtdn.
To the Editor II TIE MORNING fsaBsRAx.
JAS. 4. I6o5.-DEAE SIE: / notice Ia your
late issues the opinions Of certain Of our
eitizeps which you have collected upon the
question Of capital punishment, and am
not quite satisfied with the reasons given by
either party. Protection to the community,
All viii agree, is paramount. How this Is
best secured Is not so easily determined.
Society Is free from the depredations OF men
with dominant animallsm only - the higher
order of faculties come into ascendency.
depression and self control are aimed only
by the development of the moral and in-
tellectual, To which We add the weaker in
huence of fear, not very controlling when
person Is under excitement or
the influence of dominant idea.
lis doubtful if ever man can be said TO be
of sound mind who commits murder. Such
persons are of class physically low and
lingering on the barbaric plane, or they are
mentally sick. There Is large class OF men
whom Mandslsy would call epileptics, re-
sponslble enough until the attack of epilepsy
sets in. All kinds of emotions are provoking
causes 10 an attack of this disease. Religious
excitement, yenereal excitement, political
and social excitement of any kind tend I'D
bring on the attack. Alcoholics, perhaps,
are responsible 20 a greater degree than any
other cause whatever. Nor is alcohol lin
tied TO this class alone III Its effects. IL
provokes the brutal in all classes of men.
The probability that acts of this class largely
originate In mental peculiarltles amounting
TO moral disease, or more properly, psychcal
unsoundness, argues III favor or lenlent
course of treatment toward the criminal,
mall fhsk
larger part of the public, act upon this
theory practically-so much 40 that the pub
lie are not properly protected. Men say bet
ter let the criminals 90 free than hang an
innocent man. No, protect the public at
all hazards: better that an innocent man oc-
casionally die than that the whole body poll
tic suffer and be the prey of murderou5 men,
responsible or irresponsible. apply ma
ture's law here as elsewhere, " the survival
of the tittest"
The Rev. Mr.. Fluhrer we'll knows the his
tory OF certain family in New York where
some four hundred criminals oT one class
and another were found among its offspring
in four generations. Nature says stop pro-
duction. Self-preservation says stop pro-
duction God III His infinite goodness asks
of the human family to stop producing
criminals. Now. any legislation which shall
meet this requirement will be wholesome
and sound, and yet think We need not hang
the ruling of the court, If there be any
doubt, give the prisoner the benefit and say
If the evidence preponderate against the
man shut him up for a season and await de-
velopments."
We have two classes of criminals-the first
come from plane of low intellectual and
moral development. The savage Is yet III
the ascendency. Education will, IN time,
bring this class up, it is To be hoped, to
plane giving immunity 10 the public. But
the public have right to immediate pro-
lection. The death penalty here Is not one
to haggle over by any maudling sentimental
ism. Possibly there might be punishment
inflicted quite as deterring to others OF his
kind as hanging. One thing is certain,
there should thereafter never be the posi-
bility of any multiple of this type of man.
Character might be modified by mascula-
ton and immunity to the public follow. If
the experiment did not prove this, such men
should be rooted out, root and branch,
slain as you would slay a mad dog.
That class of criminals which come from
mental unsoundness of whatever degree
should be leniently dealt with. They should
be confined, quarantined to the extent OF
affordng absolute immunity to the pubic.
They should not be cast upon their own re-
sponsibility by any pardoning power OF the
executive They should be carefully cared
for and be competently managed therapeu-
ticaliy. They are insane criminals from the
physicians 5 standpoint, but that should never
be the excuse for verdict of not guilty. 1t
would recommend to clemency and judges
should decide that, not jurys. For murder
there is but one verdict-guilty.
AS Mr.. Fluhrer is to discuss the question
of capital punishment on Sunday evening
hope he will tell US how to stop crime, dis
cussing heredity, and other social questions
including the labor question and intemper-
ance; secondly, the question of diseases
bearing upon criminal acts. These
questions disposed of, the question
what is TO be done with the criminal or the
law-breaker guilty of the highest known
offense is properly before the mind to be
answered. Il. n. BRIGHAM