The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-24
TIE MURDER RECORD.

The lenity with which cases Of murder
are treated in the United States almost
savers Of indifference. Many are murdered.
but few are hanged. Homicides are on the
increase; executions on the decrease. Con-
sequently criminals have come to regard
lightly the dreadful act of taking the life of
a tellow-being The burglar who enters a
house is prepared to shoot or stab rather
than be captured. To avoid punishment
for a comparatively petty crime he ia pre-
pared to commit the most heinOus known to
the law and to society. Surely the system
of cur courts has something 10 answer for
when criminals have so much the upper
hand that they act with impuniiy.
According TO the Chicago Tribune, which
for years has kept an accurate record of
murders. executions and lynchings within
the United States, there were 67o2 murders
committed in 1892 - double the number
committed five years ago. This is an APP
palling progress for the worse. In 1887
there were 1885 cases Of murder; in 1889.
1861; 1890, 1920; 1891. 5906; 1892. 6792. This.
it NAY confidently be stated, is three times
the number of capital crimes in the whole
Of Europe, which has hundreds OF millions
Of population. Only one murderer in 60
Sheriff. The number hanged last year was
107 and in the preceding year 123. Judge
Lynch last year officiated at 236 executions
and in 1891 at 1875. So that Judge Lynch's
services are popular and those of the Sheriff
are falling into desuetude. The statistics
are anything bat creditable to our criminal
Jurisprudence. It would be inaccurate to
say they indicate a lapse to barbarianism,
for barbarians do not shrink from the in
Fiction Of punishment
What the share of California is in this
appalling total does not appear, but notor-
ously it is considerable. Here, IL anywhere
the murderer whose hand reeks with the
blood Of victims may hope to have generous
consideration. If he has money he may
laugh at the chances of hanging, such are
the loOpholes the law provides him with
when he has able counsel. as he may always
have. Even If poor, his chances OF escape
are many to one for conviction. Our method
Of getting jury sworn enables the most
intelligent and upright citizens 10 get out
of An unpleasant duty, which they would
dutifully perform if required to serve But
a challenge is sure to come from one side or
the other when such men say they re ad the
newspapers and have opinions about the
preparation of murder, with no objection
10 hanging as the punishment. When at
last out of perhaps Two or three score, a
jury Of twelve is obtained il is phenome-
non in intellectually and independence. Add
to this the license allowed to counsel, the
innumeTabe tender considerations per-
mitted TO the defense, and the legal help
lessness Of the Judge ip summing up, and
we reed not marvel at the miscarriage OF
justice being so frequent. The Judge can
not give bis opinion on the facts to the jury,
and as to the law, it is of so little use to
such jury that he might just as well, did
the code allow him, keep it to himself
After the first trial, if there be a conviction,
a second. third or fourth may be hoped for
Such a thing as hanging a murderer a
month after his sentence would be entirely
out Of the common order of things. In a
word, the road TO crime is easy. and the road
out Of it is almost a beaten track. The law
is good, but its administration is feeble.