St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-02-04
AN IMPORTANT TOPIC.
Rev. MIR. Simmons Sermon on
What to do With Criminals.


At the First Unitarian church yester-
day morning Rev. Ell. NJ. Simmons
preached an interesting sermon on
"What to Do With Criminals" Most
of his discourse was review of the
principles of criminal treatment, of our
special laws and prison customs. He
said the true principle of criminal law
was simply the protection of society,
and this was to be pursued without
either sentimental pity for offenders or
the least vindictive spirit toward them.
He said our laws were not yet strictly
lust, and quoted President Bascom's
saving, that men were allowed to grow
rich and respectable by practices, COM
pared with which many state prison Of
lenses were mere peccadillod. He said
hardened and hopeless criminals should
be imprisoned without any possibility
of pardon; while all who were to he re-
leased again should be encouraged in
every way to reform and treated with
kindness which would make them
friends of society. He said prisoners
should not be demoraliZed by idlenesS,
even if their work harmed free labor:
but it was hard to see how the latter was
harmed any more by their competition
taxes to support them in idleneSS. 1t
would seem just as well for free labor.
and infinitely better for the prisoners,
to make them support themselves as far
as possible. He closed with the ques
ton, what to do with murderers. They
must be removed from society. without
the possibility of return. Capital pun
ishment seemed the best way of doing
this, and seemed. besides, most pow
erful means of lettering others from
crime. But in practice the death pen
atty seems to have no such deterrent in
fluence, and the broadcast study of the
statistics of lands that have gradually
reduced, or entirely abolished, capital
punishment, does not give the slightest
aid to the argument in favor of the gal
lows. Minnesota has no advantage over
Wisconsin, which abolished the death
penalty thirty-five years ago, nor lii
nois over Michigan, which abolished it
where allowed. are seldom used,
and more than nine-tenths of the MUIR
derers escape them, and often by them
escape imprisonment, too. And when
used they often harm more than they
help by melting the spirit of violence,
and history is full of proofs of this.
Charles Summer said: Every example
of violence by the state is injurious to
public morals" We naturally ask to-day
what is to be done with the Barrett
brothers? They are the meanest of
murderers and ought not to have the
slightest sympathy, and we may well
leave the proper authorities to do as is
thought best. But if they are to be
hung we ought to inquire on what prin-
ciple. Is it for vengeance? We should
be above that. Is it to terrify GRIM
inals and warn people against murder?
Then hang them in such way as to give
the lesson most force. Do not hang
them out Of sight in jail, but from the
top of the electric mast, where the
whole city can see their contortions and
our children learn the lesson well. That
would, of course, be most debasing to
the spectators, but SO it will be to
read of it in the papers, with por-
haps few woodcuts. The truth is.
the same principle which has driven ex-
ecutions into the privacy of the Jail as
unfit to be seen should drive them out
altogether as unfit to be heard of. AS
far as the Barrett brothers themselves
are concerned they might as we'll be
hung, for we want to be rid of them
foreYer-but do not want the city of
Minneapolis to be soiled by their hang
ing, or our children to be brutalized by
hearing of it. would be glad to know
that these murderers were dead. but l