The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-25
THE WHIPPING POST IN DELAWARE.
Some of the Reasons why the. State Clings
to theAncient Method of Punishment.

(Prlscilla Leonard in Outlook
The present law relating to the whip.
ping post in Delaware Is that ssthe pun
ishment Of whipping shall be inflicted
publicly, by strokes on the bare back
well laid on" It shall he done by the
sheriff or his deputy, or by a constable
The>whipping post and pilory shall be in
or near the jail yard of each county.
Women are exempted from whipping
The whipping Of minors is left to the
discretion of the court in each case
Whenever corporal punishment is . part
of the Judgment the day for its execution
must be fixed in the sentence. Whenever
convict at the same time receives seyer-
al sentences Of whipping the court shall
SO graduate them that under all of them
he shall not receive more than go lashes
nor stand in the pillory more than one
hour.
Whipping is inflicted as punishment
for the following crimes: Attempt at
poisoning. mayhem. highway and house
robbery, setting fire to Offices vessels or
stores. burglary. larceny, embezzlement,
making forged plates, obstructing rail-
road tracks, etc. The pillory is general
" added as further punishment, or else
fine and Imprisonment.
"But why, y asks the outsider, tsince
whipping was abolished in the United
States laws in 1889, and even in the navy
In 1850 does Delaware cling SO fondly to
country, or simply more uncivilized?"
Well 1t would be hard to explain, to
the average outsider, whose idea of the
whipping post Is made up of a tortured
prisoner, CORY AUTOMATICALLY and a
mob OF brutalized spectators. the easy
going indifference of the average Della
warean about the whole thing. The
indeed have never SO Much as seen the
whipping post, and those who ha We
have never been heard to complain of
any brutality In connection with it.
The movement for prison reform, active
in the State, has no condemnation for
the whipping post; il fixes on over
crowded cells and idle prisoners as far
| would approve. indeed, an extension of
the punishment SO as to include the
crimes Of prize fighting. cruelty to
children and animals, and wife-beating
now punishable only by fine and impris-
onment. The reasons for this general
acquiescence are rooted in % the past
history Of the State; (s) it's geographical
position; and (8) the conservative charac-
| ter of it's inhabitants. They may be
! briefly stated as follows:
/. Delaware has always had d large
free negro population Now the negro
| is given to petit larceny, and he does not
greatly mind being imprisoned for it.
| In some cases he mad beeu known to
commit petty offenses at the approach of
| winter with the avowed desire of getting
a home in jail until spring. This ten
dency can be- successfully com bated only
by corporal punishment, which he does
not like, and avoids If possible. The
whipping post mas solved this problem
for Delaware justice during the past, and
| its value is established unUil some better
substitute can be devised.
| 2. Delaware Is small agricultural
State, lying between the large cities of
| Philadelphia and Baltimore. 1t is a
natural haven of refuge for criminals
| from both cities, and would be overrun
with thieves and small offenders il the
quality of Delaware justice was not Bit
ter to their taste. The whipping post is
an abomination to the criminal from out
side He gives the State q clean berth
on It's account. One gang of bank bur-
! glars did select Wilmington as a field of
caught and soundly whipped. They had
no difficulty, being exports, in breaking
out of the old fashioned Jail at New
castle, afterwards, as easily as they had
broken into the bank; bnt the whipping
ranked in their minds; and they left on
record their determination never again
to enter the State where gentlemen in
their line of business were whipped lik g
slaves" Whereat all Delaware ohuokled