The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-10-29


with eggs and decayed vegetables, Du'
this disgraceful practice has been pro-
| hibfted for many years.
| The general use of the whipping pos
| is as a punishment for larceny, ana tns
| number of las,1es for this crime varies
from FIVE to twenty, at the discretion
! of the court. Formerly women were
whipped, but they have been exemp'
, from corporal punishment for thirt!
| years The pillory of itself is provided
| as a punishment for forgery and as
| sault and battery with intent to com
| NIT murder Post and Pillory combin-
| ed are imposed for the crimes OF arson
| burglary, highway robbery, horse steal
| ing. and assault with intent to commit
| rape Formerly a prisoner convicted
of murder in the second degree was sen
| fenced 10 an hour in the pillory and six
| ~ lashes, in addition to imprisonment
| for life, but several years ago the cor
| poral part Of the penalty for this grade
| of crime was removed.
Another modification Of the law in
regard to the penalty Of whipping is
! the clothing of the court with authority
| TO omit corporal punishment for lar
ceny where the prisoner, having been
| convicted for the first time, is recon-
| mended to mercy by the jury; or when
| he pleads guilty and furnishes proof
| Of previous good character.
While in years past the whippings
Were very severe, invariably drawing
| blood and frequently cutting the back
of the victims into large, deep welts,
the custom for the last two decades has
| been TO apply the lash lightly. The Ian
guage of the law with respect to cor
poral punishment is: 1.-THE punishment
Of whipping shall be inflicted publicly.
by strokes on the bare back, well laid
on II shall be administered by the
sheriff or his deputy" Chapter 1873,
section 90, Revised Code of Delaware.)
Each sheriff, however, construeS for
himself the language of the law, well
laid or" and SO generally has become
the custom to apply the lash lightly that
it is seldom a drop of blood is drawn,
even in a sentence of thirty or forty
lashes. Sometimes, in the case of a
prisoner whose foense has been OF a
particularly henious or revolving char
acter, the sheriff will construe the law
literally, and give the offender a whal-
ing that he will never forget Such in
stances, however, are rare.
The absence of any specific provision
in the law respecting the instrument
with which the punishment shall be in
fiicted has caused a curious variance
in the practice followed in the three
counties composing the state. In New
Castle county the sheriff uses the genu-
inc "cat-o'-nine-tails" The whip con-
siSts of nine Ieathern throngs, each an
eighth of an inch in thickness, fastened
to a stout hickory handle. The throngs
are about two feet in length.
1t can readily be imagined now ter
G'Fbly a culprits back could be mangled
with this veritable instrument of tor
tue should the sheriff decide TO comply
with the language of the law, and see
that the lashes were well laid on"
And yet, in slavery days, many a negro,
and white man, too. had his back fair
ly cut into ribbons by the awful blows
of this terrible scourge. 1t could be so
now did the sheriff chose to consider it
his duty under the law. In Kent county
the sheriff whips all post victims with
an ordinary rawhide whip. This gives
the culprit in this county practically
only a ninth part of the punishment
their fellows at the New Castle jail re-
ceiye. Here, also, the sheriff uses his
discretion as to what constitutes laShes
well laid on" but severe punGshments
and the drawinN of blood are the ex-
ception and not the rule
When the sheriff OF Sussex county has
Offenders to thrash at the post he simp
ly goes out and cuts a supply of pliahle
hickory switches, using his discretion
as to their size. Switches superseded
the lash in Sussex about forty years
ago.
The punishment Of the whipping post
is most frequently inflicted for the
crime of larceny, and most of the offeql-
ders are negroes. 1t can scarcely be
argued that the pun shrnent is a deter
rent- Men continue to steal, despite the
ternors of the whipping post, and in
stances are not rare of hardened Of
Tenders being returned a second and
ev N a third time to receive their pun
SShment. The ordinary criminal, the
man of low intellect and vicious ten
dency, seem to have little dread of the
whipping post
But there are many who hold that the
post and pilloCy serve 10 deter the COM
mission of many graver crimes in this
state. particularly that of burglary Sit
uated as it Delaware. and particularly
the city of Wilmington, on the main
highway between New York and Wash
ington, it is contended that the slxllful
burglars Of the large cities would fairly
oveTu-un this community did they not
so much dread the punishment of the
post. The jails Of Delaware could not
hold such fellows, and it is urged that
only the peculiar mode of punishment
provided for their crimes keeps them
from here
The high-class professional burglar
looks upon the whipping post as a deg
radiation, and one who Is unfortunate
enough to be compelled to embrace IL
and feel the sting OF the lash upon his
bare back loses caste among his fell
lows. This was shown back in 1873.
when Jimmy Hope, big Frank" Car
ter, Jimmy LAWYER and Ed Hurlburt.
four Of the most famous cracksmen in
the land at that time, took the cbnox-
ious dose of post and pillory for an at
tempt to rob the Bank of Delaware in
this city. These burglar princes would
have guaranteed the payment of any
Of money could they have evad-
ed tina sentence OF an hour IN the pillory
and forty lashes each imposed upon
Them They felt it as a disgrace that
forever barred them from the society
Of high-toned burglars. and. though the
sheriff applied the cat" in a manner |
that scarcely Redeemed their backs. they
hung their heads in deepest shame while |
the caSHgaion was being administer |
ed. All soon after esca ped from the |
prison, but all felt that they had been
forever degraded by their public ffagel- |
latton at a Delaware whipping post. |
There has never since been an attempt |
10 rob a bank in Delaware.
Burglariss are committed here. but 1
-hey seldom amount 70 much, and are /
almost invariably the work OF bunyilng
amateurs Skinful professionals in this |
Inc OF business give Delaware a wide
berth. 1t IS also held that the fear Of |
ne osSrace attending punishment at
ne post keeps many a young man IN
he line OF honesty who otherwise might
Tle8d 20 the temptation and 60 asu-ay.
" course. this Is largely con ecturai.
)ut u Is a belief entertained by many. |
I'ne whipping post, therefore. has hosts
u supporters among the good people of