The Washington times., 1901-08-04
RESTORES DEATH PENALTY
Colorado Again Returns TO Capital
Punishment.
Many Prfsoners Have Demanded the
Privilege of BEING Hanged and
HAVE Sorely Tried the state ON
cinis - An Automatic GalIows.

, Have SOrely Tried the state ON
: cinls - An Automatic Galrows
Capital punishment has again beer
made the penalty for murder in Colorado
by an act approved March 20, 1897, tn.
death penalty was abolished in the State
Imprisonment for life being substituted
1t has taken scant four years to satisfy
the people of Colorado and through them
the State Legislature that a more dras.
tic deterrent of murder was needed.
The abolition of the law making death
oy hanging the penalty for murder in
the hrst degree was repealed owing tc
the oratorical and sentimental campaign
Waged IN 1896 by those who were op-
posed to capital punishment 1t was al
Ieeed' as 1t always is. that imprisoMnent
for life was a more severe penalty than
Death While in the estimation of most
Apeople this Is an undoubted truth. IL
seems to be perfectly certain that. when
considered in the abstract. 1t exercises
very little. IL any. deterrent effect upou
criminals. The records of the police de-
partments of the State show that during
'he last four years there has been a
heavy increase in those crimes of >yio-
ience which are likely, in their results.
TO result IN trial for murder The police
capital punishment more police officers
nave been wounded by the bullets of fee
ing criminals than in the twelve years pre-
ceding its abolition. They say that du-
ring the last four years every burglar
they have caught has been armed. and
tnat this class of criminal has shown a
disposition to use weapons with a free
dom unknown before the passage Of the
act which put a stop to hanging
Colorado is the second State to return
{ 10 capital punishment. Iowa abolished
hanging in 1872, and gladly restored 1t In
1913. During those six noE-hangiag years
Iowa had some experiences with its crlm-
inais which it is not likely to forget One
or two attempts have since been made To
again abolish executions in that state
but each has met with an overwhelming
defeat
now that Colorado has returned to the
use OF the death penalty there are only
Iour states In which capital punishment
Is not resorted to. These four States are
Rhode Island, Maine, Michigan, and Wis
consin. In Kansas, too. capital punish
men. mas oeen practically abolished, for
Ihe law ordafns that the Governor of the
state snail himself sign the death war
rant OF every convicted criminal. The
a
great reluctance to sign the death war
rants of convicted men. the reason usr-
ally advanced being that they did not
know the history of the crime or the de-
tails of the trial This gubernatorial re-
iuctance to sign death warrants has at
times caused great deal of trouble. for
Inc only alternative is Communication of
sentence. In nearly a dozen cases GRIM
inais who have been condemned to death
nave refused to ask for either pardon
or a communication of sentence and have
loudly demanded the execution of the
death sentence upon them. The men who
insist upon being hanged are one of the
trials of the Governors of Kansas.
In returning to capital punishment Col
orado will again employ a method of ex-
ecution of which it claims to be the origi-
nator 1t is that in which the condemned
criminal, by stepping on a particular
plank, automatically hangs himself. 1t Is
claimed by the prison authorities of Colo
rado that this method of execution was
invented by convict in the State peni-
tentiary, but Canada disputes this claim.
saying that it has been in use for years
by some of the prisons of the Dominion.
The Jaw by which Colorado re-establish-
ed the gallows in its State was one of the
few bills which the Governor did not
sign. Under the State law all bills which
have passed the Legislature become laws
ninety days after their passage, if during
The time intervening, the Governor shall
aot have vetoed them. In this case the
Governor of Colorado has neither signed
Tor vetoed the bill. but it still becomes
aw.
For the past month Warden E H. Mar
in, of the Canon City penitentiary, has
been preparing an apparatus similar to
hat which was in use before the aboi-
ion of hanging. There is separate exc
ution house, which also contains three
ondemned cells. The cells are separated
rom the execution room by wide pas
age.
The execution chamber itself is divided
n half. One side contains the moose and
he fatal plate in the floor; the other is
eserved for the apparatus which ope-
ates the rope. The apparatus is simple
md is said to be merciful.
When the condemned man is brought
nto the execution room the moose is
laced about his neck and the cap is
rawn over his face. He is then told to
tep forward. As he obeys he steps upon
plank, which puts the machinery in
peration. The weight of the criminal
forks a lever attached to a string,
Thich, when pulled, draws the plug from
large vessel containing water. When
he water reaches a certain point a trig-
er is released which, IN its turn, liber-
ties an enormous bag of sand or other
eavy weight. This weight is attached
} the other end of the hangmans rope,
nd the result of its fall is that the con-
emned man is jerked violently off his
set and into the air. When the body
omes to rest, which it does at once, it
angs about two feet from the floor.
This method of execution was employ
upon twelve murderers before the pas
age of the abolition law, and there were
o failures. The neck of each man was
at once and death is said to-
ave been instantaneous. Under the old
lethod nearly a minute elapsed between
lie time of stepping upon the plank and
lie falling of the weight.
While this is said to be no longer than
e agonizing moments preceding the
'op the ordinary scaffold, it is
ought to be entirely unnecessary. and
will. If possible be abolished II is
id that this delay was purposely intro
iced into the operation of the mechan-
n so as to allow of time for the adjust
ent of misplaced moose or even for its
moval temporarily. These two reasons
e alleged to be absurd. 1t it understood
ut electrical device is to be applied
iich will make the operation of the cord
As soon as the condemned
an touches the plank the weight will
'rk.
This, il is said is the most merciful
ans of execution known. There is none
the awful waiting that existed under
old regime and the criminal is spared