Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-06-20
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
interesting Views Anent the Action OF
New York's Legislature.

Interesting Views Anent the Action OF
New Yorlx's Legislature.
Again a bill for the abolition of capital
punishment in this state has been passed
by the assembly, and again it has been de-
feated in the senate.
When a measure to the same effect was
passed by the lower house few years ago,
Kemmler was awaiting execution by cleo
tricity as the first victim of the new meth
cd of judicial killing, and in some quarters
It's passage was absurdly attributed to sim
lister influences exercised by the electric
companies. In others 1t was treated as q
mere freak of the assembly, indicative Of
no positive and settled conviction against
capital punishment.
The vote on Monday and the very intelli-
gent discussion of the measure which pre-
coded 10 prove that there is such conviction
In the minds of the great majority of the
assembly. The vote was 7S to 80, and the
arguments in favor of the bill were all
practical and reasonable and not i'll any
measure sentimental. They were based on
the easily demonstrable fact that murder,
the highest crime of all, is more likely to go
UNPUBLISHED than any minor form of crime,
and that consequently the penalty of death
does not justify its savage severity by act
ing as a deterrent from murder. Last year,
said Mr.. Malby during the debate only
about u per cent of the murderers were ex-
ecuted. The penalty that should be admin
istered with he most certainty and with alb
solute equality is actually administered
with the least certainty and the most in
equality. A pickpocket gets his just de-
serts from n jury. A murderer stands good
chance of escaping from them, so hard is it
to get a Jury who will send man to death.
Putting aside all other considerations.
this is an argument from experience, which
has prevailing influence with the assembly.
In voting for the abolition of capital pun
ishment that body voted for penalty
whose infliction would be surer and more
conducive to the ends of justice and be q
more effectual deterrent from murder. As
it is, the death penalty remains, but expert
ence indicates that the average sentiment
of juries is so far opposed to it that practi-
cally it gives encouragement to the muir
derer rather than strikes terror to his heart.
The larger consideration is whether the
brutaliZing example and effect of killing
men by law do not stimulate in the COM
munity the savage thirst for blood more
than they brighten men from murder.
In the senate the bill was defeated by an
even more decisive vote than that by which
it was passed in the assembly, or by "a to q.
The very preponderance of this present OPP
position to the abolition of capital punish
ment suggests, however, that a disagree
ment between the two houses so total can
not continue indefinitely. The increasing
favor shown by the assembly to the propo-
sition is likely to extend to the senate.
In all the civilized states of the world
capital punishment is either abolished out
right or is so rarely administered for the
crime of murder that its entire disuse seems
70 be near at hand. Cold blooded killing
as a public penalty is repugnant to modern
civilization.-New York Sun