Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-02-12
Barbarous and Humane Execution.

The method by which Eyraud was
Killed was as human as il is possible
To make an execution.
Within less than minute after he
was led out of the prison to the guillo-
tine his severed head was In the bask-
tie. The JOB could not have been doae
more expeditiously and therefore with
more consideration for the conde enned
AS soon as he reached the guillotine
he was thrown under its knife and in
he twinkiing of an eye he was be-
| headed
No surer, speedier and more humane
way of putting man to death can be
devised by modern philanthropy. 1t
| Is much better than beheading with
an axe In the hands of a headsman. for
the gillotiDe works with the certainty
of machine without emotions to dis.
turb the course of its operation. The
instrument. too. has been in use in
France for century, and it has never
failed to accomplish the purpose for
which its adoption was advised by DR..
Gulllotln. That purpose was TO make
the method of execution more in ac-
cordance with sentiments of humanity
by obviatine all danger of prolonged
suffering and the possibility of failure
to cause instant death. When reforms
of the Penal Code were under discus
sion in the French National Assembly
in 1890 he proposed this ethod of de-
capitalion by machine and brought
about its introduction on grounds of
philanthropy alone.
The Legislature of this State chang
ed the method of execution from hang
ing 10 killing by electricity, on the
recommendation of Commission
whose motives were the same, but
whose judgement was not so good as
DR.. Guillotin's. His method was GER
tain in it's operation, and ddemonstrably
so. There was no doubt that the ma
chine would cut head off instantly,
for similar instrument of death had
been tried in different parts of Europe
tor hundreds of years. Therefore he
was an intelligent philsnt hropist, and
knew exactly what he was advising.
Our Commissioners were ignorant as
to the working of electricity for the pur-
pose. Instead of recommending
method of execution whose superiority
to hanging had been demonstrated,
they advised an exp riment with an
agency which had never before been
tried in capital punishment. The whole
practice of the civilized world was
against them. scientific opinion was
divided as to the probabilities of the
and vet they induced the
to enact that 1t should be
made. Everybody knows how it turn
ed out in the case of Kemmler and the
thrill of horror which the manner of his
execution sent throughout civilization.
The law passed on the recommenda-
ton Of the Commisson also forbade the
publication Of any description of the
Yet no hanging of the
past was reported so fully and circum-
stantially as the horrible execution of
kemmler. Reporters for press associ-
tions were even invited to witness the
awful process. The theory of the
Commission that capital punishment
by the new and mysterious agency
would tend to djmish the frequency of
murders has worked no better in prac-
tice. Murders have teen no less num-
erous than before.
Hence the present Legislature should
repeal the Electrical Execution law
without delay. If it wants method
of killing more humane than hanging,
there IS the guillotiDe, which took
Evr ud's head off with lightning speed.
If it rcvolts from beheading as barbar-
QUE, there is the same reason for re-
volfing against all methods of capital
pun ishment. 1t is impossible to kill a
man in cold blood without offending
the sentiment of humanity, which is so
delicate ut this period. Ii capital pun
shment is defensible, it can only be
defended on the ground that it exeites
terror, and thus freightens men from
and cutting a mans head off
with the guillotine is both more
humane to the victim and more horri-
Die to the imagination OF the public
han hanging him.-NeW York Sun.