Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-05-14
pUNISHMENTS IN COREA.
a Country Where Thiev9s IN
ONCE are Beheaded.
seven Glasses Of Criminals and Three
Methods Of FlOgging Prisoners

a japanese paper prints the IOil0W-
ing descriptive sketch Of Corean pun
shments, by . gentleman Of Tsushima,
whoFesided in that country for several
years:
"The punishments are divided into
seven classes: decapitation on the high
way. simple death, the exposure OF the
criminals head to the public. exile.
Eogging, confinement. and Coz hscation
Of property The FIRST two punish
ments are, according to the established
custom, only permissible after the SEN
tence has been reviewed by the King;
but the extraordinary course is some
times followed of executing the SEN
tence FIRST. and making the usual rep
resentation as TO the crime to the King
Faftel ward. Provincial magistrates. as
well as governors of small .owns.haye
this power over the lives of the people,
and in consequence bribery and illegal
punishment prevail to an incredible
degree. All death punishments are
executed in the months of September
and October. On one occasion. when
petty Official was to be beheaded on
the highway for peculation, the official
who had pronounced the judgment
left the scene Of the execution before
the sentence was contaminated, as if
afraid Of the horrible sight, and the
executioner in the attempt to behead
the criminal cut deeply into a large
bone in the mans left shoulder, and
could only extricate the blade by plac-
ing his foot on the body. while the un-
fortunate victim was shrieking with
pain. After repeated efforts the head
at length fell to the ground. The
criminals sentenced to exile are trans
ported either to some uninhabited
islands or TO the small isles in the ju-
risdiction of Cnol-la-du or Ham-gyong-
do, to which criminals were transport
ed from very ancient times. There
are three different methods Of logging.
The simplest process is to beat the
criminal with slender sticks, held in
both hands. The staff-beating, or
fioQging the back of the criminal with
two thick sticks, is a more painful
punishment, and in nine cases out of
ten the criminal dies. The third pro-
cess consists in beating every part of
the body without intermission, so that
even the most stoutly built man suf-
fering this punishment is manned, If
J D. q .sissns not -nots,ollv die afterward If
the punishment accorded To misde-
meanors with the professed object Of
correcting the future conduct Of the
offenders be SO severe. we can safely
assert that the real purpose of Corean
punishments is to kill the offender.
There are no definite periods of con-
tinement established; the prisoner is
often fettered and supplied with
scanty food only to await death in his
cell. Con6scation extends to real as
well as movable property. and, in con-
sequence, when one member of fam
lily is sentenced to this punishment all
the rest are compelled to starve. Pun
ishments are reduced several degrees
according to the amount of the brides
presented to the subordinate officials,
who conhscate the property Of Others,
not in vindication of the law, but for
their own selfish purposes. Many peo-
pie have lost all their property through
unjust judgments Of the authorities,
and are wandering about in poverty.
Even this may be pardoned when the
accused has really committed certain
crimes; bnt persons who have made
fortunes BY their own exertions, or
who do not allow their neighbors to
share their wealth. are not unfrequent-
II summoned on false charges and SEN
fenced to connscation. Therefore rich
people are always compelled to brine
the governors"