The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-07-27
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
HONOLULU, q. T., JULY ~, 1901
THE JAIL DELIVERY.

Had Attorney General Dole been pos
sessed Of foresight in equal degree to
the hindsight be Is displaying. instead
OF a lot OF presumed criminals being
enlarged there would be the same
crowd OF accused persons awaiting
their lawful trial II is hardly right.
however. TO call them presumed Grim
inals. for every accused person Is pre-
sumed to be innocent until he is prov
ed guilty. None Of those men has
ever been proved guilty by due pro
cess OF law. as Law was in this coun
try when they we're tried.
Current events. by the way. are
furnishing a clear demonstration OF
the unsatisfactoriness OF a system
OF majority verdicts. The Judge try
ing criminal case here. under such a
system now happily obsolete. instruct
ed the jury that IL they had reason
able doubt OF the defendants guilt
they must aequit him. All OF the
jurors were under the same oath to
truly render a verdict according TO
the law and the evidence Each one
was supposed thus TO decide the case
In his own mind before he cast his
ballot in the jury room. When. there
fore. three or two jurors--or even one
juror for the matter Of that-dissent-
"A From, a ,.orasos - sy,,fit,- .ha aytfo~
ence OF opinion was certainly liable TO
create a reasonable doubt in the mind
of an outsider. in public opinion, OF
the convicted persons guilt. The one
OF two or three dissenting of the jury
might. for all the community knew.
stand for the highest intelligence. the
keenest insight and the best con-
science OF the entire twelve men.
There Is little room for doubt. indeed.
that the validity of majority yerdicts
was used as a screen OF responsibility
in both civil and criminal cases. II
Was 40 easy for one OF the majority
afterward TO pose as having been one
OF tie minority. when the resentment
OF either an influential sutton or OF the
community was aroused by the YER
dict. The results under the unan!-
nous verdict system required by the
United States constitution. since 1t has
been in force here. prove that even
on the score OF expediency. which
should be most foreign 20 justice.
nothing was gained be- the custom
superseded. There is certainly as
high proportion OF convictions now
as before. and in both civil and
criminal cases the proportion of mis-
trials or hung juries" is no higher.
In all probability. too. the necessity of
unanimity leads to a more thorough
elaboration in the jury room. over
the issues involved. than was given
to cases when juror might 1issen.
from his fellows out Of sheer prejudice
without rendering himself and them
liable 10 protracted confinement.
To return to the starting point cf
these remarks. the community at this
jnncture viii ask Attorney General
Dole why. instead OF butting his head
against the enactment of Congress
making the United States constitution
rule all law in Hawaii from a certain
date. he does not have the alleged
criminals. whose release he holds a
menace TO the community. arrested
and tried according to law. There is
high authority for the proposition tha..
their former trials having been unlaw-
fal. they cannot take refuge under the
constitutional principle that a man
cannot be placed In jeopardy second
time for the same offense.