The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-03-17
BLOW AT
DEATH PENAL TY
House Passes Bill Giving
Juries Option in Capt.
tai Punishment.
MR.. BENNY'S ARGUMENT
He Wants Hanging Abolished
Altogether-A Lone Me-
gative Vote
MIR. BENNY'S ARGUMENT

lSpecldl TO 'I16 Jersey lily lStWS. j
TRENTON, March II, 1900.-Something
like oratory broke out in the House yes
terday afternoon and for some time the
members ventilated their opinions on
capital punishment. The discussion was
over the bill introduced by Mr.. Foote, of
Union county, providing that in convic-
tions for murder in the first degree the
jury shall designate whether the sentence
shall be death or imprisonment for life.
When the bill came up Mr.. Benny offered
an mendment providing for the aboh-
tion of capital punishment and is sup
port of his amendment made a long
speech. The drift of his argument was
that the State had no more right to take
life than the individual. The theory of
capital punishment was based on the old
Mosaic law, he said, which declared an
eye for an eye tooth for tooth, but
this had been superseded by Christ him
self Mr. Benny substantiated this argu
ment with copious quotations from the
Scriptures.
There is no member on the floor of this
House." he went on, ''who will not agree
with me that it wicked for a man to take
his own life and 1t is a sin against the
law of God and man. If it be a sin for
man to take his own life how much worse
must it be for man or dozen men to
put their heads together and say we will
put this man to death if he commits
certain crime I"
Mr. Benny declared that the fear of
death did not keep men rom committing
crime and quoted statistics to prove his
assertion. TIL eaverage man was not
afraid of death, which he declared was
amply proved by the number of men
who volunteered for the war and who
were grievously disappointed when they
could not get to where the bullets were
flying He quoted from the statement
made by Brown who was recently exc
cuted in the Hudson County Jail and who
lust before he died declared that he much
preferred death. to Imprisonment for life.
He also declared that it was a false as
sumption that the fears of being hanged
deferred anyone from committing muir
der. Mr.. Benny showed that about one
half the States of the Union had abolish
ed capital punishment and five left the
fixing of the penalty to the jury.
Mr. Foote, the introducer of the BILL
said that the House had already gone on
record as opposed to the abolishment OF
capital punishment when it accepted the
adverse report of the committee on the
two bills having that object in view
s.It is known" said Mr.. Foote, that
juries have acquitted men on trial for
murder because there was no middle
course, and they did not wish to condemn
the man to death. If there had been such
a law as that now pending the man could
have been sent to State Prison for life.
Mr.. Murphy denied that the House had
gone on record as opposed to tie aboli-
ton of capital punishment. The ad-
verse report of the committee had been
adopted because the Republican majority
had agreed to stand by the reports of its
committees. Mr. Foote's bill, he declar-
ed. was a middle of the road proposition,
and the plan of man who was afraid to
face the direct issue. He thought the
Legislature should face the issue and not
shove it off on to the jury.
Mr.. Wright, the Burlington county
Quaker, who as a member of the Society
of Friends, is opposed to capital punish
ment, said the Foote bill was acceptable
to him as meeting the proposition half
way. 1t was not exactly what he wanted,
however, but he would take such as he
could get
There was some further talk on the bill
by Mr. Garrison of Morris, Mr.. Bradley of
Camden and others. Mr.. Benny's amend
ment was defeated. The bill was then
placed on final passage and was passed
with only one dissenting vote, that of Mr..
Abbott of Atlantic. Thinking that he may
have made mistake the Clerk asked Mr..
Abbott if he was correctly recorded, and
he replied that he was.