The Washington times., 1901-09-29
ODD PROBLEMS In CRIME.
Many Chances Given an Accused
Man to Go Free.
Opportunities Are All With the
CriminaI-DificuIti Encountered
in Furnishing Guilty Parties-Of-
tenders often Escape Penalties.

|
who was for so many years prominent
among the thief-catchers recalls rather
interesting penological problem" said a
bright young attorney who is connected
with the New Orleans bar. "and when we
come to weigh the facts the wonder Is
trat the arms of the law are not fire.
quently palsied when reached out to
gather in the person who offends the es-
tablished rules of society. There are what
pathological authorities have been pleased
to call the coefficents of impunity, and
| while the term may be without meaning
to the layman, there is nevertheless be-
hind it group of facts which mean much
when it comes to the protection of life
and property, and to social safety gen.
orally. Rules of conduct drafted with the
solemn sanction of the social unit, by the
supreme power of the State. may not be
violated with impunity without endanger-
ing the peace and order of civilization
The death of man who has spent the
best years of his life in hunting and catch
ing criminals calls attention afresh 30 the
| various avenues of escape which our pres
ent system offers the offender. Probably
| the specialist will have a clearer under
standing of the fact than the common run
of men, and yet the facts need only to be
| q.
Chief Casters service as a thief-catcher
he could have recalled, when his own
record was closing, many instances where
noted and well-defined criminals had es-
capped the punishment prescribed by the
law for ore reason and another.
I'm the first place the offender has a
| chance to escape detection after he has
| committed his offence against the law.
He seeks the dark places where no human
eye can see him. He tolls between the
suns. when the eyelids of the honest are
pressed down in quiet repose. Thus the
| first avenue of escape opens up to him,
| and detection, in spite of the wise precau-
| ton of modern police methods, becomes a
matter Of chance. How much uncovered
property was pilfered during Casters con-
nection with the New Orleans Police De-
uartment? How many houses have been
robbed where no clue was ever found to
the robbers? How many watches, coats,
umbrellas, ard other like property have
been purloined by the nimble-fingered
gentry with the noiseless tread? How
many robberies on the highway? How
many blood and brain-bespattered bludg-
| cons are lying in the archives with their
secrets still unraveled? This is merely
| illustrative, and no doubt the brave chief
long and faithful service could have re-
called many cases of criminals who had
! operated SO skillfulIy that they left no
trace that would lead to detection and ar
rest. The point is that the fault does not
lie with the officials, but rather is it to
be found in the weakness of a system.
But this is only one avenue out of many.
The police may be vigilant and they may
apprehend the offender. and yet, accord
ing to my way of viewing the matter, he
still has good chance to escape punish
ment, and the percentage seems to be
against the State.
I'VE will assume that the offender is
arrested" the lawyer continued land we
will still find a few things which seem to
initiate against the Commonwealth.
There are certain constitutional guaran-
tees, and of course no man would dare at
tack these fundamental safeguards, for
the person who is merely accused of crime
is not necessarily criminal There is
the presumption of innocence which
stands as silent witness for the accused
until it is overcome by such a proponder-
ance of proof as to leave no reasonable
hypothesis except that of guilt. This
means to give the accused the benefit of
the doctrine of reasonab bic doubt No good
lawyer, no humane citizen will attack this
principle. Yet we must remember that
this very just principle tends to give the
accused an advantage over the state 1t
is q great leverage in the hands of a skill
full pleader. 1t is easy to conjure with the
English language, and specious pleas are
easily rolled from an oily tongue. So this
silent witness may sometimes be used to
cheat the State out of the States deserts.
and may compass the escape of a harden
sd and dangerous offender There are
many examples of this sort. There is an
other advantage right on the threshold of
the trial, and the fact Is found in the
number of peremptory challenges allowed
the accuser in the selection of the jury,
number in most of the States far In ex-
cess of the number allowed the Govern
ment. So here we find another fact stand
ing out in our system of criminal proceed
ure which initiates against the State and
tends to increase the possibilities of es-
cape so far as the criminal is concerned
This opens up the pos sibilities of pack
ing the jury, a thing which too often hap
pens in some of the commercial centres of
the country. The accused may or may not
go on the stand, just as he pleases. He
may be heard himself, or by counsel,
or he may balk the State by sitting in
stances are not unknown to the lawyers
who have criminal practice where this
has offered an avenue of escape. We must
allow for errors in the jury's finding,
errors that may be honest or dishonest;
we must allow for the errors that may
slip innocently or corruptly into the
charge of the law by the trial judge: we
must figure. too, that the offender may
escape before the committing magistrate
for one reason or another or that the
grand jury may fail to indict, or that wit
nesses may be corrupted, or that the Jail
or some other officer charged with the
keeping of the offender nay commit some
error that will lead to the offenders es-
cape. And SO we see one avenue after
another opening to the man who is ac-
cused of offending the laws of his coun-
try. These facts present to my mind an
interesting study, and while l do not ad-
vocate harshness in the matter of hand
ling crime and criminals, there is a
chance at least for some slight improve
ment in the system.
Il am only speculating about these mat
ters," the lawyer continued, land to my
mind it opens up an interesting field The
police records are full of mysteries. There
are many 'unknowns to be found scribbled
across the pages of the complaint book.
An unknown negro or AN unknown man
does this and that and the other. An
unknown man may be found with his
skull cracked dead in the street dead at
the crossing of a railroad, or dead some
where else. An unknown man may be
found floating in the river with every
evidence that he had been foulIy dealt
with. but with no clue to the offender