The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1894-05-12
THE /LzDZCL4RY

okganic law of the State and in tn
criminal proceedings by which tn
culprit would be sure to get the
p1nfohhaeiae he deserves, and By
which society, as we'll as individuals
would be better protected than the,
are under the present system, agains
the deleterious effect of the many
shameful acquittals of parties, who
have richly deserved the penitentiary
and in some cases the gallows,
There is no doubt that something OF
the kind is needed, and that unless
done, the administration of the
law will soon become a
sham; or something worse as the
states has it, can instrument of per
Secution against the penniless and
friendless accused and a sort of a
white washing machine for the rich
ind influential criminals. But the
question is, what is the remedy and
how is it to be applied?
We will not presume to indicate
Or prescribe the remedy. We are
like sick man, who knows that he
IS sick, because he suffers, but he
does not know what medicine to
take to cure hiu1se1f or alleviate his
pain, and must get physician.
Since about thirty years the
fnef6cacy Of the administration of
the criminals laws of the state has
gradually augmented until it has
reached an alarming condition.
This state of things can not be long
tolerated without exposing society
to succumb to the Obstructive influ-
ence of UNPUBLISHED crimes, driving
1sen to the necessity Of resorting to
force and violence to right their
grievances, which is the most deplo-
rable condition into which a CON-
munity can fall, for experience has
shown that whenever the judge of
the law is powerless to punish
criminals, Judge Lynch ascends the
bench and vindicates, in a summary
manner, the outraged rights of
society.
"A commission has been appointed |
to revise the State constitution and !
to propose amendments to that ms
trument with view, principally, of
correcting the evils growing out of
the imPerfection of the present Judi
ciary system. When a physician is
called to the bed side of a sick man,
his first endeavor is to find out the
rA,fea ~ the ,;lp,an% re -. ....:.
to know what remedy to administer
Society or the body polite is sub
jected to moral diseases just like in
dividuals are subjected to physical
diseases, and when the law maker is
called upon to abrogate law or
system of laws that not only falls
short of obtaining the ends for
which it was ordained, but produces
de1eterious effect on the body
polite, and to substitute in its stead
law or system of laws, he
becomes the physician of the body
oolitic: therefore, the commission
appointed to revise and propose
to the state constitution
ANASS hASt INTO the causes |
hat produce the evil complained of. (
n order to know what changes in I
he law are necessary to correct the t
vii. l
Without presuming to indicate to {
he omnrissfon wha: should be done {
o obtain more prompt and effIca- c
ious enforcement of the criminal s
avs, we will venture to advance, h
hat the evil complained Of by the
tates, grows out and is the natural il
of the present defective "
of the state. Some attri-
ute it to the leniency of the judges
nd to the Partially or incompetency
f the jurors. Although in some 81
ases, this may be the proximate a
ause of the evil, in our opinion it is II
My the "cause of the cause" The +,
-af cause is the inperfection of our is
ldiciary system from which the a,
'niency of judges and the partially d
lncompetency of the jurors flow fe
,Bhe corner stone of good Judi 81
larry is absolute independence;