Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1890-07-09
HOW CRIMINALs BE.
Eminent Frenchmen Say killing By
Elecsrisity IL Barbareus.


Those who are in favor of the execution of
murderers condemned to death by means of
electricity, as being the quickest and least
painful method of sending them out of the
world, have been led to this conclusion by
motives of humanity which do them the
utmost credit. Strangely enough, however,
II is precisely on humanitarian consider
ations that n. Beauquesne, the governor, and
the Abbe Faure, the chaplain of the Roauette
jail, are opposed to such an innovation. It
10 to the Roauette that prisoners sentenced to
death are invariably transferred after their
condemnation by jury sitting in the Seine
Assize court, and none are more competent
than the governor and the chaplain to pro-
nounce an opinion on the subject, except,
perhaps, "Monsieur de Paris" as the chief
executioner is called, and even then his views
might be regarded a. biased, in q certain
measure, on motives of personal character
for the man who has gone about chopping
off heads with guillotine could scarcely be
expected to deliver q thorough impartial
opinion.
Were he to express . preference for the
electric system he might lay himself open to
the reproach that he was not quite as skill-
for the past ave years-with ona single ex-
ception, that of Schumacher, who, as
protestant, received ghostly counsel and ad-
vice from pastor of his religion-has &C.
eompanied to the scaffold all the criminals
executed on the square In front of the
Roquette, expresses the utmost horror at the
idea of such change. The worthy coolest
astic says that he has the utmost sympathy
for all scientific inventions, but he refuses
to believe that French Legislatures will be 30
cruel as to protract by preparations which
require certain amount Of time the suffer-
ings of even murderers.
The Abbe Faure has attended during their
last moments upward of sixteen criminals,
and he says that scarcely two seconds elapse
from the time when, after . farewell embrace,
he gives up the prisoner to the executioner to
that at which the head of the murderer rolls
on the ground. he remarks indignantly that
he never can admit that men, however de-
based they may be, ought to be placed like
common animals In glass apparatus and
struck dead with an electric spakk. This is
opposed to every principle Of humanity.
| The chaplain of the Roquette Is, after every
execution, in the habit Of writing notes of
the Rhastly ecene which he has Just wit
messed, and he declares that not once during
| the whole of his experience has the con-
demned man offered the slightest resistance.
This he attributes In great measure to his
own presence on the soaffold, and he says
| that If the electric system were introduc ed
he would be unable to offer the prisoner the
consolation of religion up to the last mo.
ment.
OF Prado the Able relates that, although
he was generally regarded as q brazsn-faced
and hardened scoundrel, he spoke earnestly
with him during his last minutes, and that
his confidence in him was 30 great that he
begged him to save his body from dissection
at the school of medicine. OF Geomay, the
murderer Of Nine. -Couloumy, he wrote
that he had died like q soldier, Breton, and
Christian. A few minutes before he wal
executed ne asked the Able to convey hi
last farewell to his old mother. The Abbt
Faure says that at the Roquette everything
is done TO render the las. moments of orimin'
ais a. easy a. possible, and, like NJ
Beauqussne, he is positive that, far from be
ing . merciful innovation, the system o.
executing prisoners through electricit,
would really subject them to q decided in
Grease Of mortal torture.