St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-05-02
wH,PP,No-PosT IN DELAWARE.
6oms Reasons why the State Cllngs . Z
AAclent Method Of Punlahnent.


The present law relating to the
whipping post in Delaware is that 'tte
punishment of whipping shall be In
fiicted publicly. by strokes on the bare
back well laid on 1t shall be done
by the sheriff or his deputy, or by a
constable. The whipping post and
pillory shall be in or near the jailyarl
Of each county. Women are exempted
from whipping. The whipping OF
minors is left to the discretion of the
court in each case. Whenever COR
poral punishment is q part Of the judg-
lnent, the day for It's execution must
he fixed In the sentence. Whenever y
convict, at the same time, receives
several sentences Of whipping, the
court shall so graduate them that un-
der all of them he shall not receive
more than co lashes, nor stand in the
pillory more than one hour.
Whipping is inflicted as q punish
naent for the following crimes: At
tempt at poisoning. mayhem. highway
and house robbery, setting fire to Off
ces, vessels or stores, burglary. lar
ceny, embezzlement. making forged
plates, obstructing railroad tracks.
etc. The pillory is generally added as
q further punishment, or else fine or
imprisonment.
'.But why" asks the outsider.
'since whipping was abolished in the
United States laws in 1899, and even in
the navy in 1850. does Delaware
cling SO fondly to it? Is she. wiser
than the rest of the country, or simply
more uncivilized?" Well, it would be
hard to explain. to the average out
slider. whose idea OF the whipping post
is made up Of tortured prisoner. a
CORY cat-o'-nine tails, and . mob
OF brutalized spectators, the easy-go-
ing indifference. of the average Della
warean about the whole thing. The
large mcjority of the citizens of Della.
ware, indeed, have never 20 much ak
seen the whipping post, and those who
Lave, have never been heard to COM
plain of any brutality in connection
with it. The movement for prison re-
form, now active in the state, has NO
condemnation for the whipping post;
il fixes ON overcrowded cells and idle
prisoners as far greater causes for
complaint. Many would approve, in
deed, an extension of the punishment.
so as TO include the crimes Of prize
fighting, cruelty to children and ami
lnals. and wife-beating, now punisha.
ole only by fine and imprisonment.
The reasons for this general acquies
cnce are rooted in (D the past history
of the state. (2) its geographical posi-
,ion, and (3) the conservative charac-
ter of its inhabitants. They may bS
briefly stated as follows:
i. Delaware has always had . large
free negro population. Now, The ne.
gro is given to petit larceny, and he
does not greatly mind being impris-
cned for il. In some cases he has
been known to commit petty offenses
at the approach of winter. with the
avowed desire of getting home in jail
until spring. This tendency can be
successfully combated only by corpor-
al punishment, which he does not like.
end avoids if possible. The whipping
post has solved this problem for Dela-
ware justice during the past. and its
value is established until some better
can be devised.
2. Delaware is q small agricultural
state, lying between the large cities IT
Philadelpnia and Baltimore. 1t is
natural haven of refuge for criminals
from both cities. and would be overrrn
with thieves and small offenders il the
quality Of Delaware justice was not
bitter to their taste. The whipping
post is an abomination to the criminal
from outside. He gives the state a
clean berth on its account. One gang
of bank burglars did select Whining
ton as field of operations some years
ago. They were caught and soundly
whipped. They had no difficulty, be-
ing experts, in breaking out Of the old
fashioned Jail at Newcastle after
wards. os easily as they had broken In
70 the bank: but the whipping
ranked in their minds; and they Ieft
ON record their determination never
again tn enter the state where gentle
men in their line of business were
whipped like slaves" Whereat al!
delaware chuckledl-Priscilla Leon
ard. in Outlook.