The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-05-06

Inc history Oh CasS county Is aOOut as
follows: Since its organization it has had
tion. All murderers tried In Logansport
have got OFT with comparatively short
terms. One took a change o. venue TO Car
roll county and was hung. and another.
who did the same, was lynched-
the only two of our list that ever
got their deserts. Our last murderer
and it was q brutal case of q
| bully killing an unarmed man upon the
| public streets after dark-gOt of with
| the amazing sentence of only four years i'm
pr;soment
Why is il that there are so per cent. more
| lynehings than hanginpsi l will speak only
| for Indiana, but remark that the same
state of things exists substantially IN other
| States.
First-Our Consultation provides that in
| criminal cases juries shall he judges of both
| law and fact. Notwithstanding this. If our
judges. In their instructions 10 luries make
| the least mistake In stating the law. our
Supreme Court reverses the sentence and
reversal by the Supreme Court 10 practi-
! caily short IMPRISONMENT, for second
trial has always an i'm portant witness dead
| or absent, and 10 usually q tame. spiritless
affair In which the prisoner always has
| the advantage
Second-The prisoner always has the
| ablest local lawyers. This grows-curi-
ousiy enough-out of the fact that he has
| no money. The county foots the bill, and
| pays cash. The judge Is always liberal.
and the honor of getting him OIL easy" Is
very great, and greatly sought after by the
| attorneys appointed to defend.
| Ihird-FrOm the start the prisoner has
| the advantages. Every presumption ie fool
| ishly given in his favor by our law. he
has twenty peremptory challenges, and
no end OF challenges for cause bet
ter" says mAudlin public sentiment. that
| ninety nine guilty men escape than an IN
nOcsnt man perish" Now, it Is just such
nonsense as this that has saved the necks
Il hs. NJ lie
wretch hes. and has caused so per cent.
more lynchlngs than hangings.
Fourth-The criminals lawyers are in
vsriably extremely keen judges of human
| in advance. Sheriifs, who always fear q
| job of hanging. and prefer tho big pay of
taking tho convict 10 the peniteDtiary. are
| only too willing TO covertly aid the defense
death penalty. Every man who is severe
| In his ideas about crime, or who is without
| warm passions and sympathies, is excluded
| from the jury box, and only those suf-
fered to remain that are marked nv easy
| going ways. or who can be reused br play
| ing upon their good nature and thus be in
| fiuenced TO light penalty.
Fifth-lnvariabiy an all murder cases
| there Is provocation. The murderer has
| always some good traits of character, and
| the murdered is more or less in the wrong.
| All this is artfuiiyi handled. Every circnn-
stance against the criminal is ignored.
| Everythin IN his favor Is exaggerated.
| Gradually the jury lose sight of the awful
| offense of taking human life. The prose-
| cutor seldom has either eioqueDce or any
| dramatic power. and the jury soon take
| sides" as in q civil case, forgettul OF the
| facts that it Is only In one or two cases,
| like necessary self-defense or the sed uction
! OF wife or daughter. that justlties the TAX
ing of human life by private hands.
| Sixth-Thus a murder trial becomes a
commonplace affair. and this is aided by the
arm n " ~
| murderous arms, and the leuiency and FREE
Quency with which manning and assaults
| with knives and pistols are treated by our
| Juries. The ingenious counsel for the muir
derer is as acute in bis judgment of the
| court as of the jury. If the court is against
| him he requires "all instructions to DO in
writing" This in nine cases out of ten.
Is big advantage TO the criminal. for the
judge Is almost always poor reader and
will not take the time 20 cover all the
points of the case that he otherwise would
IL free to verbally instruct the jury.
Seventh-Another fruitful source of ad-
vantage to the murderer is the infinite
technicalitles and delays that a loose ad-
mlnistration Of the criminal law admits.
In England there lsno appeal IN such cases.
| There the accused Ia sure OF a far trial.
but. once adiudged guilty, he must swing
the succeeding Friday. In France the ut
| most care Is taken so accuse none but the
guilty. but once accused and put on trial.
murderer is bound "a prove his innocence
the suppression OF this awful crime.
| Eighth-Theso causes combined have
made 1t possible. within the last ten years.
| for %, 653 murderers to escape the galiOws.
This is sickenlng record. and one that.
under our present system or criminal Just
ice will increase instead of diminish.
The best use to which you can put a man
guilty of murder is to hang him. Lynch
Ing is simply protest against the short
comings of courts and juries. A jury could
not he impaneled in ClsS county that
would punish no matter what the evidence
was. any citizen of Carroll county who
participated in the lynehing OF the muir
de-er of Luella Mebbitt Now 1T is likely
that the mobs that. within the last ten
years. have strung nj .52i murderers were
composed of excellent citizens. whose
views in all other matters were uDim-
peSohable: and still they violated the low.
and nothing can be said IN their favor in
thus setting aside the tribunals appointed
to administer jnstioe except that they did
not do their appointed work.
In conclusion, / do not believe that all
tho nations of western Europe combined
have witnessed &c BIS murders IN the last
forty years. Why notg Because the tri-
buDala are strong enough to detect and
punish mur6erers without delay. In Eng
land murderer IS not n public hero; and
in France. Germany. Italy etc. the govern.
ments believe il more for the interest OF
the public that the awful crime of murder
should tie suppressed than 10 give murder.
ers every possible advantage In their
courts. and to reduce TO minimum the
chances of escape from the gallows.
4 Il