St. Paul daily globe., 1889-02-07
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
Representative Davis Discusses
His AboIishing Bill.

Representative G. X. Davis gave the
GLOBE yesterday the following ex-
tremely clear opinion upon his bill to
abolish capital punishment in Mime
sofa:
l am opposed to the taking of human life
in any form, as well by the state as by the in.
dividual, and consider that in this age of
boasted civilization capital punishment, that
relic of barbarism, should cease. Ii killing
fellow being is ever justitiable in man, it is
purely i'll self-defense; therefore, ought the
commonwealth 10 possess greater rights?
The exigencies Uf other days may have
been such that the life of a state depended
upon taking the lives of its subjects, but
modern ingenuity can construct prisons that
will securely keep offendefs, therefore judi
cial murder is wholly unnecessary to perpet-
uate the states existence. Under these cir
cumstances every execution would seem to
be aconfessi, n Of weakness, II not cowardice.
Society of which a state is formed may with
propriety be termed a compact or partner
ship. Did we, or had we the right when en-
tering into this compact to concede our title
to life, and can we thus declare 1t forfeit? II
we can SO delegate the right to Others, we
certainly do or ought to possess the right OF
self f-deSlruction, which no one Will admit.
Two men cannot agree that II either COM
nit a cllme the other may kill the offender.
Then what precise number must SO agree IN
order to Justify such action? | hold that an
when committed by the many, Tor division
of responsibility cannot transform vice into
virtue.
The dangerous maniac we restrain and cure
if possible, while The dangerous criminal we
hang-and fear revenge is the actuating
motive. Laws which tolerate revenge are
unworthy of a Christian people.
Sacredness and inviolabllity of human life
is a lesson always to be taught, and the COM
mand. Thou shalt not kill, " never to be for
Vat ia md
is about again to violate this precept.
Government is an educator for good or evil.
Its wrongs permeate every vein of society,
and the people become like It, therefore con-
demn in the government what is wrong IN
the individual. -,t e-''e4 .,--.,
If government expects to restrain men
flom killing, it must repress its own vengeful
actions by undertaking to illustrate the sa-
credness of life by numbering the criminal.
Barbarism in law promotes barparism in
these subject to the law:
Another great objection is that this penalty
is irremediable. No matter how innocent
the victim. the state is powerless to undo the
wrong, and that thousands have thus been
executed cannot be denied.
When we consider the unreliabll1ty OF hl.
man testimony. that perjury, prejudice and
public opinion often produce convictions of
the innocent how preSumptuous in man to
infict such penalty. AS long as we are liable
to error we should reserve the possibility of
correcting our mistakes.
Motive and intent are essentials OF crime;
therefore to draw the line which separates
sanity from insanity, hence responsibility
from responsibility, is most difficult; and
yet this great task is forced upon jurors
wholly incompetent to analyZe the mental
and moral lnharmonies of the human mind.
One popular yet fallacious justification for
this penalty is its supposed deterrent effect
upon the criminally inclined. l will admit
that if the criminal knew that death would
follow swift aid sure upon his dealing the
fatal blow fewer murders would be commit
ted But he knows just the reverse. He
knows that numerous avenues of escape are
epen to him; that, when caught, juries are
averse to convict, judges TO sentence and
sheriffs to execute. Hence this threatened
menace looses its terror.
Statistics show q vastly greater number of
convictions, in proportion TO the number of
trials in the states. where imprisonment for
life is substituted for the death penalty.
The value of any threatened penalty de-
pends upon the uniformity of its enforce
ment And the deterrent effect of any penalty
should be measured by what the offender
thonght at the time of the commission OF the