The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-12-03

cases of conviction for~nurder the>eun-
ishment shall be by death or imprison-
ment for life in the discretion of the jury.
1t is furthermore provided by law that no
person shall be permitted to act as a
juror in murder cases who entertains
such conscientious scruDles as precludes
him from fixing the death penalty for
murder, so that the jury in a murder
case is always comprised Of men who be-
lieve in capital punishment and who are
always required to state under oath that
they are willing 10 infiiet 1t. AS to the
causes that operate upon the minds Of
the jurors that prevent them from inflict-
ing the death penalty when they find
verdict OF guilty, the courts have no bet
ter opportunity of judging than any other
person who might be a close observer Of
the same conditions. About two-thirds
OF every jury empanneled is composed Of
former residents of Kansas, who have
been educated and trained under sys-
tenn of laws where the death penalty has
never been inflicted by legal authority.
Ii may be that this facr has controlling
influence on the minds or persons who
might have no objection to capital pun
ishment and yet feel that no better re-
suit could be attained than by life i'm
Drisonment
"Yet. this could not be a complete an
swer to the question as to why capital
punishment is not inflicted In my Judg-
ment one of the reasons why the death
penalty is not assessed or fixed for the
crime of murder. is that for quite a
period of time after the first settlement
of Oklahoma we were without local laws
or any form of local government and the
people were compelled TO protect their
personal and property rights by their own
personal efforts and often by force. Dur
ing this period 1t became the custom with
a large portion of the population to carry
firearms and to be at all times prepared
to defend property rights or personal in
terests. For long time after the estab-
Ishment of government and the enact
ment of local laws there twas no public
sentiment in favor of enforcing the laws
which would have brought about the dis
continuance of this custom; and while in
considerable portions of this territory
the laws are now and for some time past
have been vigorously enforced against
the promiscuous carrying of firearms
there is yet a considerable portion where
the officers are unable to enforce the laws
against carrying offensive weapons. The
result of this custom has been that in
many instances where persons became
engaged in slight difficulties over trivial
matters, both combatants have immedi-
ately resorted to the use of weapons and
it has been largely a question of skill in
the use of the weapon as to which should
take the life of his antagonist. In this
class of cases there has generally been
some color of mitigating or extenuating
circumstances, which, while probably not
sufficient to justify the taking of human
life, have been sufficient in the minds of
the jurors to prevent the infiiction of the
severer penalty.
Another cause, in my Judgment, is the
condition Of the public mind. The peo-
pie who settled this territory are largely
a class of people who have lived and
been reared on the borders, and by rea-
son of the frequency of homicdes have
become more used to such crimes and
do not look upon the loss of life with the
same degree of horror that people do who
seldom come in contact with such cases.
Human life does not seem to have the
same value placed upon 1t that it does
in the old-settled communities. You see
this idea exempMfied in case of war. Men
who in ordinary affairs of life are shock
ed at the death of friend or neighbor,
either from natural causes or by violence,
IN field or camp come to look upon such
matters with perfect complacency. The
people who settled this territory are
largely the poorer class Of persons who
come to seek homes or make fortunes for
themselves. They have all been extreme
" busy with their own affairs. Every
thing has been done in rush and each
one has had to engage all his energies
in developing and building I'D his home,
business or profession. In this great ac-
tivity and energy they have for a time
lost sight Of the Importance of a stricter
enforcement of the penal laws.
From my observation these conditions
are rapidly changing and the public mind
is becoming aroused to the necessity of
a more vigorous enforcement of the laws.
I find. as a general thing. our juries are
composed of an intelligent, lawabidirg
class and are anxious for such enforce
ment of the law as will reduce the COM
mission of crime to the lowest minimum
The people have become more prosperous;
have come to know each other better and
have more time to give to the considera-
ton of such matters than they have here
tofore been willing to give. I do not
attribute the failure to infict the death
penalty in cases of murder, so much to
an objection to capital punishment as to
the fact that in nearly all homicide cases
that have been tried in our courts there
has been some evidence before the jury
showing some slight aggravation and pro-
vocation which led them to believe that
lighter punishment would fully satisfy
the demands of the law. Those cases
in which parties have been tried where
II was unprovoked and premeditated
murder. have been extremely rare. Such
murders in this territory have Usually
been committed by that class known as
outlaws or desperadoes and they have
usually been killed in resisting arrest,
and never brought 10 trial"
JUDGE IRWIN TALKS.
Judge Clinton F. Irwin. Of the Second
judicial district, in reply to the question
as to the lapse of capital punishment and
the prospects Of its revival or Ultimate
extlmate extinction. said;
81 have been such a short .tire -ere
and gwen the SUBJECT - niue at'Si4 ~''-''
] do not think my Judgment or the mat
ter would be very good. One o. The main
causes. I think. is owing 70 the s7oat a.
versitv Of character and educati'1 Of the
people from whom our Jurors il criminal
.caSes are drawn. This Is n ~ iEatily IN
cident to any new country. owing % he
-apldjty Of its settlement rAis c-untiY
IS only little over ten years Old and *
remarks bic for the rapid i7c-eass % pop
ulau5n IN that time rs Inhabitants
are from all parts OF the void sad from