Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1890-05-01

Tie Pario1ing Power and It's Abuse.

Science 81 government Of greater moment
10 the masses or one which calls for more
wisdom in it. consideration than that
which has reference to the proper punish
mcnt Of criminals for ofense> against our
penal codes Whenever and wherever
q minal, ar punished merely for the sake
of INJECTING punishment upon them, or to
crafty any vudictiye feeling against
them, such punishment becomes cruel
and brutal wrong, not only 10 the victim,
bat ~ the world ana especially to him
who nhicts the punishment. 1t j. often
said Of some person who has committed
some great ofrnse against the >acredneSs
Of human life or the rights Of man
Hanging !, too good for him" or the
law won't give him what he deserves"
Whoever cherisAes such feelings as these
j. governed ny yudictiye spirit and goes
long way toward making himself the
equal If the alleged criminal
How to secure the greatest good TO the
greatest number j. the all-important ques-
ton which enters into the punishment of
criminals; or. in other words how can
society be best protected against criminal
offenders. Toward the criminal personally
we ought 10 have no feeling Of ill-wll
or revenge, nor should we be willing to do
him the smallest injustice; but while We
seek to avoid Injustice to the offender, We
ought 70 be exceedingly careful that we
DO none to the public. The protection Of
society Is the primary object Of all just
penal laws; and the Imprisonment of
person for ofenses which deserve impris-
onmeut protects society il various ways
while he Is held in durauce, the public is
exempt from his schemes of villainy and
his experience during his term of prison
life Is often such as to make him careful,
when he regains the precious boon Of
liberty, not to make himself again amen
able 10 the rigorous penalties of the law;
but Of more consequence than all the rest
is the effect Of the infection of certain and
condisn punishment upon the offender,
when the public takes cognizaDce, as it
must, Of the penalty In this way, more
than any other, is society protected from
the ravages of villains who, witnessing
the wholesome spectacle, naturally dread
to draw down on their own heads like
punishment for ike offenses
In theory this is all right; men are al
lowed fair trial for alleged ofenses aud.
if found guilty, are generally sentenced
according to law, though often the sen
tence pronounced is the very lightest that
the statutes will allow. In practice. how
ever,it often follows that when an offender
has been sentenced to Imprisonment for
term of years, the chances are ten to one.
that before he has served out half his
sentence, some friends of his or sympa-
thizers with him, will set themselves to
work to obtain pardon
When one takes into consideration the
frequency with which the pardonng pow
er is abused, he is led to wish that the law
which authorizes it could be blotted from
the statute book forever, or at least that
the pardoning power could be so restricted
that it could be used in very exceptional
cases only.
The magistrates of the Nation and of
the various States are human, and often
under the great pressure which is brought
to bear upon them, intensified by the
natural kindness of their own heart, they
are doubtless more lenient than they
should be- The best of men, brought
under great pressure, can hardly come up
to their truest ideals of duty. Let US then
in justice to chief magistrates as well as
to society greatly restrict the pardoning
power. By it bad men are often prema-
turely released from prison to 60 out into
the world again to commit new crimes,
and perhaps more shocking ones than ever
before. the case of Isaac Sawtell affording
a notable example.
In view of the frequent exercise Of the
pardoning power in this country, we can