The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1890-01-02
Worthlngton Advance.

~Do~A "COO
KAissr aad Prep, rotor. z
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Wessssss.sa, ,s.xz.. JANA 1850. =
JURY REFORM.
5Pap,ic indignation seems to set in
moro aud oss:against Juror Culver,
\ the man on the Cronin jury whose oP-
posisiss @ capital ,psnish@fat saved
The peoks Of the bloody consp:rators,
and II. II said hs has offered his proper
~ In EvsnStoa. for saie, With q wsw
Of leSving ths-eommnnity 50 incensed7
against him. This indignation against
:n3nNot notosiously' cuuboand and
fsns&idal Judgments 10 wrongly direc-
-; 4 should b4~diEected against tho,
jusy sj>tem. ~ihtcheverJ now aud their
couters upon such men ~ power they
are not dt 10 30 trusted with. Fog
asaht that appears Culver il IN honest
osa.shRt 9eaoeited+a ard prsgmatical.
lfs1SNanaa l,teusted nth sfani s
- Ataaal sakas.ctsss s SlsS -.
~ Asvsnn rights Of conscience inter-
fssSd with, though all men differ with
tho verdict he insisted upon. Once ii
tho jury box he has all rights of q juror,
and should not be coerced' beforehand
neS punished ysfterward: But there
should be IN Indignation gathered,
fierce and vehement enough to sweep
1890 ha ., "A ioo from o,,r -,
system. There are cranks every where.
In legislative bodies, on the bench,
aud. ia all the learned professions.
Same Of them render valuable service
despite their peouliarities. On many
subjects thy think soundly enough.
On others they can not be trusted. But
nowhere, except in the jury box. do We
al,w one crank to defett the judgment
Of al the rest Of his associates. Su.
preme Courts decide the grsvest ques-
tions by majority vote. Majorities de-
eide in all boards of direction ard
msnagement-why not on juries2 In
tho case of Culver had this jury sat to
hear and decide controversy about \,
common debt, or business misunder-
standing, he would probablyl:have
givon . good clear judgment. But he
was called to decide y case involving
circumstantial evidence, and capital
punishment. He, Bible in hand,
thought he understood these points.
He thought his associates did not. His
conscience forbade him surrender his
Judgment to theirs. Indeed the law
itself, which put him on the jury, com.
mands him to yield not his judgment
tO his associates. until they can con-
vince Tim ia. the extent of extirpa.inR
every rational doubt from his mind.
Culver sto"d on rights accorded him
BY law, Whstevrrs we may think of his
capacity or Judgment. We knew a
mna WIN. s9sqnt. led ,trlx iurx nasecintsss
to'c>ut8 "a Ills views, when the entire
eleven men were opposed to him ut the
outset. This man often boastel If
what he hnl done. lie WAS man who
never yielded his "pinien for that If
other men on any -uhj~ct. 1t was only
"n. u jury that he found himself able to
play the despot over the judgments ola
number Of men. Tln re is no sence in Civ.
ing tho cause of justice up to the freaks
"f such minds: II human life "r liberty
must be guarded by the sacr. Il number
twelve then let petit jurip~ be composed
Of hftron, with twelve votes to be in tile
verdict. That will shelve the cranks.
But II will be quite rs rational to let
the number h~ rs it is, with nine votes
to he in the verdict. This will make
bribery and jury fixing more difficult
than Il now is. The impannelling Of
jury Is now u game, its detcrm natl
arrived st::by the shrewdness " skill If
the tontesting attorneys. Majority
votes will afford place for thr cor
Bupt to be shelved. As It is one bribed
juror smugeIed in las all power for
that t,me to defeat justice. We want,
then, not punishment for cranks, Bat
. chance for men of better judgment
TO overrulo them.
THE TWELFTH MAN.
Arc We losing tho power to punish
murderers? 1t would seem so; for Ger.
:txinly out Of the largely increasing
number of murderers decreasing pro.
portion are brought to justice, aud
very few suffer the extreme penalty Of
the law. The statement Of Chicago
divine that fewer thieves than murder
ers escape justice in this city WAS net
strictly true, but still the gentle
mans Imagination had large fact to
work upon. But why are we losing
tho power to enforce the law against
the worst IT all crimes? Just now
most Chicago people would readily
answer: because ofthe twelfth man."
And 90 far ~ this answer sums up the
weakness, perverted judgments and
absurdisies Of the average man, the
answer is true.
We might as well take it for granted
that enc man even out of an assorted
twelve is good for no important pur-
pose. But every man 10 to some ex-
tent the product OF the life around him.
Even when great absurdity he may
still be logical sequence. The juror
who: can sfinl murderer guilty
and vet rafuaea to inflict adeOuAte