Evening journal., 1893-05-03
NEWSPAPER OPINION.
The Laws Delay.

The Laws Delay.
Philadelphia Telegraph.
If three hundred years and more ago
Shakespeare considered the laws delay
a reason for shaking off this mortal coil,
what would he think Of it now, not in
England but in the United Statesl In
the former country, If a person is con-
victed of murder IL is about as certain
as that the sun will rise and set the next
day that he will be hanged by the neck
until he is dead. But in the United
States a conviction for murder need
scarcely discompose the prisoner at the
bar. or cause him to lose an hours sleep.
The adverse verdict of jury and the
sentence Of the court are but the begin
ming of the contest between the people
and the culprit, II he have but the means
to pursue IL. So long as there are shrewd
lawyers wko can be fed, no convicted as
sassin need fear the rigors Of the law. In
the first place, IL is most difficult in this
country TO secure verdict of guilty OF
murder. The trouble begins with the
selection of a jury. The courts have
frequently ruled that, If a citizen
selected for jury duty in a capital case
has enough intelligence to read the news
papers, he is thereby disqualified TO per
form such duty acceptably; II his mind
is not absolutely vacant with regard to
the most exciting events Of the day, he
is regarded as unfit to be & juryman
When however jury Is chosen and put
In the box, the lawyers tricks for the
defeat Of justice are brought into play.
The witness box Is made place Of
terror TO the witnesses by the astute
and INSCRIPTIONS cross examiner; and II
they come out Of it without being
thought by the jury to be rather worse
villains than the prisoner, they are
lucky But assuming that all the tricks
and devices of the counsel fail, that the
abuse and confusing Of witnesses do not
prevail, and that the accused is found
guilty, IL does not follow that the pris.
oner is then marched OF to jail and
thence to the scaffold After conviction
he has many excellent chances to escape
the penalty of cowardly, brutal, deliber-
ate murder Two recent cases of muir
der in the first degree have attracted a
good deal Of attention, they being in
some respects similar. Both Carlyle
Harris and DR. Buchanan killed their
wives by poisoning them. They both
were fairly tried, both most ably de
Tended by the most astute and expert
enced lawyers, by counsel famous fol
their success in cheating the law Of its
proper victims. Both have been con
| victed and both may be executed; but
there is no assurance that they will be
| In England, Harris would have been exc
cuted and forgotten by this time but hl
is still a living man. and likely to b'
until he dies a natural death. The New
York World, In timely editorial, recte
the various resorts which ar
open TO DR.. Buchanan, convicte,
the other day, all which wer
open TO Harris, and all which he accepte'
aud made the most Of. He was duly con
victed upon evidence which to the aver
age mind appeared conclusive Of hi
guilt. But he then appealed his case t.
the general term and got a stay Of pro
ceedings. Then he appealed to tn
higher court, in each case the verdict o
the Jury having been sustained. But hi
chances of escape did not end with tn
adverse finding Of the court Of last re
sort as Governor Flower has seen ft T.
take his case out of the hands or contro
Of any court or courts, and to put IL Il
, that Of a commissioner who is TO revie'
all the old testimony submitted to tn
courts and TO hear newly discovered evi
dence, cooked up or otherwise. Wha
Governor Flower has done is TO put hi
commissioner in the shoes Of Judge an
Jury, to set aside the courts as incompe
tent to fairly try the case Of murderer
and to declare, In effect, that a singl
lawyer, without judicial training or ex
perience, constitutes safer lega
tribunal than the most learned AM
experienced judges of three differen
J courts. In addition to these delays q
81 the law, which are common in thi
country and to the defects of the la,
itself, there is injected into all murde
cases the powerful element of maudli
sympathy for the assassin Why cold
9 blooded poisoner of his wife should hav
g the sympathy Of thousands Of people q
! average intelligence and morality passe
!. all understanding. Murder is commo
in this country because Of the uncel
tainty that its doer will be punished
r The chances are greater that he will nc
J be punished-especially in New Yorl
{ Lynching is almost common in th
country, and so is IL pretty sure to I
until the necessity for IL Is put aside b
the law being vigorously executed.
the most reckless communities could
q assured that mul der would be promptl,
e inexorably punished by the law, tbeI
y would be no lynching. tits the trifin
. with the law that makes the mischiS
and that encourages murder and evok
, lynching.