The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-03-25

Sompic9 " sufV1es
IL il matter OF general remark that
Il II difficult to procure jury who will
convict q criminal Of murder in the
first degree. Jurors have @conscien-
Gus scruples' about being the instru-
ments whereby o culprit is rendered
amenable to the extreme penalty Of the
law. and though the evidence be con-
elusive, and the offense committed I'M
der circumstances of unparalleled helm
extenuate the guilt, it not infrequently
happens that the murderer escapes the
avenging prm of the law. and after q
few years, imprisonment is cast again
upon society.
This evil is occasioned, not by de-
feet of our criminal code to attach ade-
quate punishment to crime, but by the
renissness of the jurors to perform the
duties imposed upon them in the ad-
ministration of justice. They allow
their commiseration and pity to shield
the offender, and follow the dictates Of
their individual sympathies instead of
fulfilling the obligations of their Office.
BY the exercise of what they call "con-
scientious scruples." in the jury box,
they frequently assist in evading rather
than assisting the administration of the
law. They perform the functions of
Legislators nather than Of jurors. They
attempt to dispense justice to their own
ideas of right and wrong rather than ac-
cording to established rule, and by this
means outstep the bounds of their duty
and hamper the machinery of the law.
1t is not expected of them to determine
whether or not capital punishment is
consistent with the divine or expedient
as human law The state, when it
places them in the juiy-box. does not
inquire their convictions upon these
points, any more than it interrogates
Them concerning tn ir opinions of the
benefits of free trade or the beauties of
the Pythagorean doctrine of the trans
migration of souls. 1t simply places
them there to Judge upon the matter OF
fact whether the evidence proves the
accused guilty of the specified offense;
and they are bound alike by their oath
of Office and their obligations as citizens
to return truthful verdict, irrespective
of the conse luences which this verdict
will entail upon the criminal They
II
with the punishment which the execu-
tive will infiict upon him. If the rigor
OF the law be too severe, they are not
either morally or otherwise RESPONSE
BILE. If the law be tc~ lenient, il is no
concern of theirs, further than the in
terest they have in common with others
in having Just laws wisely and effective
~ administered
1t is an unwarranted assumption on
their part to presume to set up their
individual opinion in OPPOSITION to the
dictates of law, and it is breach OF
duty when they allow their "oonscien-
tious scruples" to hinder them from
faithfully performing their duties as
jurymen. and conscientiously discharg-
ing the obligations of their oaths. If
they be of opinion that the punishment
attached to certain crimes-as for in
stance, MURDERS too severe, the
proper course to adopt is to excite the
public mind to q sense of the injustice,
and get the evil remedied through their
representatives in the Legislature.
Their isolated attempts to correct the
evil serve only to obstruct the admins
tration of justice, and thereby offer q
premium to rhine, and persistence In
them may be fraught with d sastrous
consequences upon the community.
The conscientious scruples" of Jury
men should give place to their con-
scientious efforts to perform the duties
of their office. They have serious
trust committed to their are, the faith
full and fearless execution of which is
obligatory ON them, both morally and
socially. Nothing so quickly instlgates
crime as the easy evasion Of the law;
nothing che ks it so quickly as certain
retributive justice Even in deliberate
murder a man calculates his chan, Q of
detection and conviction, as is shown
by his endeavor to conceal the traces
of his guilt, and if, in addition to his
chances of altogether escaping suspi-
cion and arrest, he can count upon an
almost certain acquittal of the grave
offense when detected, he is not likely
to have that wholesome dread of the
omnipotency of the law to punish crime
which is the sWest preventive against
its committal. and the best protection
to the peaceful enjoyment of property
and ife--ETcha9sge.