The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-05-18
MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE

Murder in the second degree is . COM
mon verdict in cases where the accused,
if guilty at all. is clearly guilty of murder
in the first degree. It seems to be IA
vorite compromise verdict with juries
when some of the jurors suddenly develop
. prejudice against capital punishment.
When the law distinctly provides capital
punishment for murder a juror has no
business under his oath to consider for
moment whether he fayors capital pun
ishment or not His sole business is to
determine whether the accused is guilty
or not - charged in the indictment. If
John Jones' murdered John Brown, it 10
none Of ths jurors business whether he
likes tho law or not which Furnishes MUIR
der BY capital punishment; it is his sole
business to say whether, according to the
evidence, murder was committed.
It belongs to the law to define the pun
ishment and the judge to pronounce sem
tence. To find a man guilty of murder in
the second degree contrary to all evidence
because the penalty for murder in the
first degree is death is an outrage on
justice for a jury to commit. In the case
OF Cecilia, he was charged with having cut
his sleeping victims throat and robbed
the body. There was no pretense that
Cecilia committed any less crime than
murder. He was the murderer, or he was
not; If there was any reasonable doubt as
20 his identity as the murderer he should
have been acquitted; if there was no rea-
sonable doubt as to his identity as the
murderer he was guilty of murder in the
first degree. and he ought to have been
sent TO the gallows.
The only security society has against
such fellows is the grave. Send them to
prison and in few years some sentimental.
Humanitarian" governor will pardon
them and the world is again at the mercy
of the murderous vicissitudes of their cut
throat temper and greed. We bear such
men no personal prejudice: in broad
sense we may feel certain compassion
and regret for robbng even human tiger
of his life. hut when the man-eating tiger
hurts society, society must turn out and
judicially kill the tiger. The safety of
society demands that noxious animals
should he destroyed instead of making
the penitentiary geological garden of
wild beasts. lfsuch fellows could be bottled
mp for life, tightly corked and sealed nm.
society might DO excused for clemenoy in
such cases. but short of the scaffold there
is no security to society against these
human tigers. and Cecilia was either a
human ffpay nr ha was
there was no ''murder in the second de-
gree" about it any more than there was
when Booth shot Lincoln.
Aurderers ought to be put to death as
promptly as catamount that kills a
sheep or calf, or bear that kills a pig At
You expense. Society canno, afford to
trihe In such matters. II the murderer L.
legal luaatic let him be sent to an
asylum, but If legally and medically sane
and responsible let him be convicted of
murder and hanged as PROMPTLY "a
We execute any other wild beast.
creature like Cecilia may be an interestins
subject for psychological and medical
speculation, but society has no business, IN
consider him from any other standpoint
than that of wild beast.
The juror that excuses himself for
letting oil q eold-elooded cut-throat with a
verdict of murder in the second degree in
outrage Of all evidence on the ground
that The is opposed TO capital punish
ment" is dishonest man. His approval
or disaprrovsl of the death penalty for
murder no more releases him from his
obligation as juror 20 find a verdict &C
cording 10 the law and the facts than q
soldiers personal sympathy with or hos.
tihty to the cause of the rioters releases
HIM from his obligation TO FIRE on the mob
The state makes the Law. and ii the juro,
Is not prepared 10 ind verdict according
tolaw and the evidences, because il he does