The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-10-09
OUR CONTRIBUTORS.
THE PUNISHMENT OF CRIMINALS
BY REV. U. s. MILBURN.


This question is the outcome of the
nineteenth century humane civiliza
ton. How shall it be answered? One
point is generally overlooked by those
who discuss this subject. It is the
close relationship of theology and
penology. We cannot expect human
justice until we have a right idea of
divine justice. Vicious methods of
punishment go hand in hand with
the vicious idea of divine wrath.
Mans methods are in accord with his
conception of Gods methods. The
amelioration of theological ideas and
the reformation OF existing unjust
penal laws are closely related to each
other. To accomplish the latter we
must first succeed in doing the form
er. Theology has been softened;
hence the agitation of penal reforma-
tion.
1t seems self evident truth that
punishment should be in proportion
to the crime. Also that the object of
punishment is reformation, not ven-
geance; it is for the criminals good.
Nevertheless it has been maintained
by theologians, and is still taught
that finally every violator of the moral
law, whom death overtakes without
repentance, will be visited by the
same penalty. The blacklist sinner,
the vilest libertine, the child who has
committed the first slight offence,
these, without any discrimination, are
all condemned to forfeit forever the
presence of God and to be consigned
without degree of punishment to the
same torture chamber to be gloated
over by incarnate fiends!
What hue and cry goes up when
it is ascertained that our prison
officials permit hardened criminals
and those arrested for their first
offence to mingle together; and de-
mand is made that they be classified
and separated. Yet these same peo-
pie will sit in the pew the following
Sunday and hear the minister say
that God, in his infinite justice, con-
signs all sinners to the same prison
dungeon, to mix in each others So
ciety, to be visited with the same
pain, to be condemned to the same
eternal torment; and they will say
''amen," not questioning the wisdom
or the justice oft.
To be consistent they should petit
tion the Almighty day and night in
the agony of prayer, that he change
his plans; that he classify and sepa-
rate his prisoners; that he learn a
lesson from reformers on earth.
Finally they should petition that
they be allowed to make tour of in
vestigation through his prison and to
report reforms at the next meeting of
the advisory board of archangels!
For
Nothing can be good in Him
Which evil is in me-"
Likewise capital punishment is the
logical outcome of the belief of divine
vengeance. God, it was thought, gave
the sinner no opportunity for repent
ance after he was finally convicted;
why, then, should man always try to
reform the criminal? God banishes
from his presence the sinner; man
does likewise, using the gallows as a
vehicle. Why not7 Is man expected
to be more merciful than God? AS
this theology wanes the death pen
atty will fall into disrepute. tits our
business to see that this legal murder
vanishes:in proportion as theology is
rationalized. We must destroy the
cause and remove the effect. This is
an urgent reform demanding our at
tention. Let us then be up and do
ing" We are moved by no sickly
sentimentalism nor prompted by no
sudden impulse; we simply want
Justice. What would be just7
l. In the first place let it be under
stood that society should be pro-
tected. But the welfare of society
and of the prisoner are not conflict
ing. Law should represent the in
terests of the convict as we'll as So
ciety. Society is composed of human
beings; convicts are human beings
ALSO A violently insane person
is as great menace to society
as murderer. We do not kill the
insane to protect society; we would
resent such horrible practice. We
have no more right to kill the MUIR
derer to protect society than we have
the insane. The intellectual powers
of one are unbalanced; in the other
the moral. If we hang one, why not
the otheri In the case of the insane,
society is perfectly safe; cannot we
be protected as we'll from the morally
deranged without committing legal