New-York tribune., 1890-05-21
ARGUING THE KEMMLER CASE.
THE MURDERER'S ATTORNEY BrFORE THE
SUPREME COURT
ATroENEYGExERAL TABOR SPEAKS FOR THE
sTATE-A DECISION PROBABLE ox FRIDAY.

sIATE-A DECISION PROBABLE oN FRIDAY.
NaSmneion Nav 2O.-Thc supreme Conrt today
hcard argument upon the application for wit Of
error III the ease OF Kemmlcr the New York murderer
WI" Is under sentence OF death bv electricity.
Roger sherman. of Ncw-l lork presented the case
for kcmnlcr He said that the question now pre-
seh'cd was whether the state statute violated the
Fedcral constitution. In tia prescribed cruel aud
unusual punishment and WI, without due process OF
aW' Inc New York statute did provide cruel and
unusual punishment. Death wa, cruel. and it, in
hlcuoh 10y electricity was unusual. Nr. sherman al>o
attacked the provision Of the state law which divc,ti
the court Of the power To Gx the exact date of the
execution. As 10 the means Of carrying out The
dca't penalty the law did not contemplate that Mr.
Edison. or Mr. Westinghouse or Professor Tyndall.
any other eminent electrician. should act the warden
and eAecuti"ncr. II did not assume that he to
tee an expert He might turn on a current of 100
Nos' Ihe result might bc terrible torture. but tl'o
warden might keep that current on until death cn-urd
some tlInc during the week. The current implied
continuity The dynamo DID not furnish real cur
rent. but series Of >hocks-of bows-wcrc To- kill
the subject. The Of saline fluids to mo>tcn the
surface of the skin promised make the
surface of the body 80 good
ductor t. conGnc the current 10 the
skin and prevent from penetrating to vital point.
The conducti'i ity Of the human body varied cXtTaor
dinarlK IN different individuals and I'm the same
individual at different times. The dynamo provided
for Kcmmer'> execution by the state would
come resistance Of 231OO ohms - a mans resistance
might easily be 100000 ohms. II Wa evident that
the effort 10 thi, resistance hy such cur
rent would be attended with extreme pain.
Justice Millcr-rh, j, not in any sense an cN post
facto law,
Mr.. >hcrman-Thcrc is no contention Of that sort
Attorney General Tabor, of New York. then argued
in behalf of The state He said the NcwN jrk statute
providing for electrical executions represented the best
thought Of eminent human~ts. he -aid that counsel
New York. H. Executive. and every court from the
county judge to the highest court II the state had
held this law not 10 be liable To- the objections made
by counsel for the prisoner. They had declared II
20 be law passed in the interest of humanity. The
question then wa. " Has this court any power "r
Mcht Ia review the decision Of that highest court oi
New York %" The good pcopl" Ot NcW "rh Wci" hc.
ginning be- II Tie fearful that there was not enough
vitality left u ia" STATE II Now NOrh 10 cNcoUi" u~
criminals. II" insisted that thrIc was no t"i"1al
question. There Wa nothing anywhere to how maj
II had been ,gc>ted t. the lower court that this Ia"
Justice Ilafau-Thc Flfh Amendment say no person
Lhall Dee twice put in Jeopardy I'll hr Nupp"-" >tiin
law which put mans hi" tNl'r lh l''ldIfN
under r-taud That yOur contention m"iu~ th1t tih'
doe NOT violate the Fourteenth Amendment
Attorney General Tabor lc-. -r. This court hd-
held that very thing.
The hearing clo-cd with brief reply from Nr.
sherman. The court ro-"rV'd it, t'r.-lpp and ad
iOurncd urfi FRIDAY. when 10 b. expected tAt It,
decision Will hc handed down.