The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-01-06
Finishing Criminals.

Editor Of The Times
Sir.-Ths Times is right when II says
that Mr.. Murphy's bill 10 revive .ne
whipping post Is a step backward me
hard fact Gradgruds argue thal one WIZ
is degraded enough to enter n ch'Nhe.
house at night and steal poultry cannot
he degraded by the whipping post and
that to contend for such principle Is
maudlin sentimentality. Leaving out OF
the discussion that punishment - intend
ed more for the reformation of criminals
than for vengeance. there is 20 be noticed
the reflex influence Of punitive justice on
societv at large At one time IN
England there were about two hundred
and ffty crimes punishable with dea'h'
Among them shop-lifting. sheep stealing
and various kindred offences. AT no
period OF English history were crimes o,
all sorts and kinds more prevalent
think that IL has been stated lhdI i'i "to
wear the capital executions amounted IN
The four Kingdoms TO the enormous sum
of seventy thousand. There Is SUCH
principle i'm human nature as familiarlz-
ing the mind with death 10 such an extent
as TO rob IL of ordinary sensibility sol
diers, who have seen many battlenelus
with their CHASTITY sights are fully aware
Of this tendency Of the finest senslplllIiOo
to become blunt and callous. And SO i
Is a wise provision OF our law 70 render
executions private. We are well aware
Of the fact that there are graduauons III
this moral world as well as IN the physl-
cal and that a confirmed Heptomahlac
can be more easily brought 10 cohtem-
plation OF guilt by physical suIIeI'hs
than by moral arguments. While there ars
cases OF confirmed kleptomania they are
bv no means as common as one would
suppose. We are inclined 10 the belier
that. where from the want OF parental
training and discipline and sometimes 10
spite OF u, youth overwhelmed with
temptation falls into crime. he can De
reclaimed TO society. not by the WHIP
ping post but by such penalties as VIII
awaken the moral sense while u does not
arouse resentment and that teeilng OF
savage warfare against society wnich
aninates the confirmed criminal How
ever. humiliating the fact may be 20 our
common nature we all know n IS fact
that men and boys rather like % see a
dog fight. a chicken fight or man
fight How many hundreds 10 Richmond
would 30 tomorrow TO see man hung
and eat ginger cakes and peanuts while
the drop fell. Now this reflex Influence
on the minds OK men and boys Who would
certainly go 10 see person whipped is
bad on them no matter how good u
might he for the criminal.
[ think It was Dickens who wrote that
If We would take as much pains 90 bar
the doors Of iails on the outside as we do
on tn inside it would zee far better and
cheaper TO society. What he meant was
that We should try 10 keep people ont
OF Jail. Whipping post to-day. jail next
month, gallows next year That is ihe
kind OF criminal curriculum That or
hard headed old English ancestors under
took for :heir criminals and the gradu-
ates We're fearfully many. We the tax
payers OF the country certainly desire to
lessen Criminal EXPENSES. But Jet us
ADOPT methods that will minimize the
criminals and then We will lessen the
cost Of trying and maintaining them.
Let MS have reformatories for the
youthful criminals, the ticket Of leave
system fo- the less hardened couvicts n
the penitentiary where by good behavior
after serving a part of their sentence
there seems hope of reformation. Then
with all or efforts we will be faced with
this fact that there will be some who
will not be reformed. just as there was
one among the Apostles who was a
thief traitor and a suicide notwth-
standing all the good teachings OF the
Lord himself
Columbia. Va. Jan. 4, 1885