BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-01-25

ment5 When a burglar enters house and
It's ate ascakens and grapples with the
intruder, does the latter refrain from striking
q deadly blow, which will enable him TO at
least escape pro tempore from the conse.a
quence OF his lesser crllns9 Shall we, as .
community, initiate crime{ in its punish
meet or snail We fnd some means Of fsuppress
ing it witheut incurring shch a stigms7
Then, aga,n, that crime called MURDER
Is admittedly the one most difficult to prove,
and alas, how many instances have we'of
men, whose Innocence has afterwards been
|conclusvely shown, having suffered capital
punishment for the execution OF crime
they never committed. Where is the
Judge, a0ho as = mere expou nder and
moutnpiece of the Law as established by
Others who does not feel the bitterest pan gs
of remorse at having, though innocently,
mitaied the crime for the commission Of
which an innocent man has been sent 10
his graveg Iuculcste that high regard, that
reverence for human life; prevent thereby
the cutting off Of that gifs which God has
given us, and which He alone las the
right to take away. That will be a hundred,
nay Thousand, times more efficscious than
the infection OF cruel Punishment, wblch
may in It's undertaking course, include the
Innocent along with the guilty. Should but
one innocent man die amongst 30 murder
ers, the guilt of whom were proven beyond
the shadow Of doubt, still venture TO
submit that better had the forty mine escaped
the extreme penalty than that the one
should have suffered it. Watch that crowd
swaying hither and thither. 1t comes to
SEE the flag raised which will show that one
OF it's felIow-creatures created like them, in
the image of his Maker, is about ito be hnr
led into Eternity. Listen to their coarse
epithets and brutal jests. They are morb
idly happy; they compare their immunity
with the bitter wretcbpedness Of him who Ii
about to die. Does such scene tend to
raise those higher instincts which are
necessary to instil( one with that reverence
essential to the preservation of human life,
and without which it cannot be ssecu.e,
The question admits of but one reply.
Were Imprisonment for life under q
| properly conducted administration substitute
ed therefor, the writer opiDes that the at
tainment Of our object would result. The
criminal would be beyond the means Of Gin
ljuriDg society. and if, as is proven BY ths
abolisbment of punishment in many lands
such procedure would tend to diminish
, rather than increase the number Of crimes
which now call for the extreme penalty
should not the abolsbmsnt of death, ever
we're it only to give those poor wretcheI
sentenced chance Of becoming penitent, b,
, rendered an established fac,2
fl The law bears no malice PERSONAL,
, against the malefactor, but renders its yer
, edict to prevent repetition on the part 0
-fothers, as scell as on the part of the crimiua
himself. II such a result can he attained b.
milder punisl msnt and gentle tut never
iheless just lasos, the mind of the peopl'
becoming thereby imbued with nilder an,
| gentler considerations, and greater anti
lpathy toward the commission of crime, VIII,
, should not the same be adopted.
r Thanking you fox the insertion Of thl
above.
l am, sir, yours truly,
Il H. d. M.