, 1891-02-13
HANGING o. a FRIDAY.
No Reasoa cor nrsrutsE Criminals On
tn. Pith s><Sf the week.


No Reasoa Tor nsrutinE oriminAIs On
the PIth BzSRf the Week.
An arescgAtion stko suestioaBhether
Friday Il a day which Is especially set
apart for hanging shows that most mem
bes Of the legsi profession are ignorant on
that point They cannot affirm whether
It was accident or design that caused the
unlucky day Of the week to be chosen for
the eIscutionA
One member OF the legal profession
maintained that there was an old custom
which marked out Friday as the day for
hAnginE because the crucifxion OF tho
two thieves Sosurred on that day. Another
Hghs Of tAs law remarked: you see, Friday
IL a bsd day. There Is ozly sne Good Fri
day IN the whole year, consequently IL IL
looked upoI by Judges as . most ~Eppropri-
ats day for hanging e~riminalE"
Il may be stated right hsrs thRt thorS Ii
nothing In tbs above reasons, and that 1t
Is only q chance circumstance that four
ffths Of the executions take plRcs on a
Friday. In the earlier days of English
jus1eA when the hanging OF a man WAS a
meat ordinary occurrenea and was the pen
atty uhich followed lighter ~offenses, such
as stealing. forgery, srson and other telo-
niles, as weil a. murder. hanging occurred
on sVery day Of me weak except Sunday.
Tho aot governing the time Of execution
provided that Rfeion should be executed
o. the next day but one after his conyic-
don.
In consequence 40 particular day Of the
week wRA sVer fixed upon. All this was
In those COED old days when Lord Chiet
Justios JsnroYS. in a circuit Of eight
weeks, sentenced no less than $40 persons
to DO hanged. Well indeed night he boas,
that he hanged more traitors than this
-L-
questi That wAs after the Monmouth TO
bsilion In 1854 when tho king refsrred 70
these doines OF his favorits Judge as 'ths
chief Justices campaign in the west"
That, too, wns In the time of the famous
Jack Koesh, who became 50 notorious a.
an sxesutioner that his name Is generally
gwen 70 the common haugman In the city
Of London. It was OF this rope artist, .
a. the moderns lippantly call that function
AIRY, that his wife remarked, Amy bungio,
can put a mn to death. but only my Jack
knows how to make a gentleman di,
sweetly." Later On a moro humane spirit
pervnded English Justice. II WAS recog
niked that forty eight hous was indeed q
short pe-iod wherein to allow a criminal t.
repent and to make his peace with hi
Creator.
This hrst step was TO hold all criminA
trials on Friday. That was not the perios
when a trial lasted a week or longer. /
Eene1lly took tho court only a few hour
to decide on = felon's fate. Justice WA
indeed quick-Tery frequently toe quick
and = murderer would be sentenced on tn,
kams day. By sentencing him on FRIDAY
his o~xecutioH wssld fall on Sunday, 40
oording TO the I'VE days law, and, as nj
hangiagp vep allowed till Monday, tn,
felon thus gained a days resptts. Ia con
sequence Of this Monday was the usuA
hanging day, AID In narratives of the sole
BHlsJ' this explains this lark way IN
which Monday was always spoken OF.
In 1893 the two days law was repealed
n The present law came inte force, which
allows a murderer reasonable tina Tn,
custom Of appointing Monday for a hang
ing mill remained. In order not to hav,
" executions en- the same day tho judg,
soma imes appointed Tuesday, and for
nigh fifty yeSra in the English eriminS
caller bar It will he found that HinetJ-nini
out Il a hundred executions hAVs oocurreC
on a Monday o. . Tuesday. Nowadayl
this Instruction Is beatndnz to die out, al
then IN it has only comH0noed In England
On the side Of ths W-atsr no dlstinc
ton Is made, and murdsrers are hanged OF
whaterer day the judge sees ft.-0ttawl
Cor. Albany Argus.