The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-06-23

To I ne F14EQI4 Iii a1N~N
crease IN crime and whether our statute
ts,t,,g mnrt,er INTO two degrees i II
.reaslng the number OF homicIdes-l hfoN's
r,,,,b for thoughtful consideration.
i, ~hould be remembered that homIcllc>
-. on the increase when our statute
aix.ainr murder was passed, and that TACT
IA. one argument made IN IL favor.
humanity rcvolts at capital punishment
when put TO the test IN the jury poN, "t3
experience had shown that many men
eullty OF murder were acquitted at,o-eNA
or. and one purpose OF the ia" was ~
give the jury an opportunity 70 eohNiNt
IN All such eases OF murder III the second
degree, and experience has shown thd1
i great evil IN that respect has bccn
rcmcdied. Cases III point vii occur TO
the minds OF the intelligent pubhc.
There Is an idea stln prevalent, ROW
ev4l tina severity OF punishment =
what We need. That experiment has Decn
tired over and over.
Hume tells Us that 1000 thieves We're
executed IN England during the reign 81
Henry VIII, and that the bloody cNhlbl
ton did not diminish crime. Bolsc IN ms
valuable work on Punishment says, When
puni,nment was most horrible CRIME was
most prevalent and life and property least
secure until 1t became an adaGe that
crime thrives upon severe puniehment.
The criminal disposition i by nature OBJ
llvious of remote consequences III the pur-
sult OF present qualification. The whole
history OF social dealing With CRIME
proves beyond doubt that the theory ut
severe penalties tor the restriction 81
clIme Is false and a. obsolete a. tn, rock
OF the headsman's axe
Mr.. Mlllikin, Of Name, III q debate III
congress III 1896, SAID: The whole history
Of crime IN this country and Europe -
| that it has not been diminished by severn
! ty Of punishment, but rather by certainty
Of punishment. We have tried Il ii my
| own State. For a long time We had a
law which provided that a man should
be hanged Tor murder or other capital
crime. lie Nua not to be hanged, howcNci,
until the Governor should .s4ue his war
rant for that purpose. The Governor
, never issued their warrants, 20 that We
had IN practice imprisonment for lie for
murder, arson, rape and other capital
crimes. But some OF oul friends who
| preferred to live by the code of Moses
rather than the code OF the Man OF
Nazareth, were urgent have capital
punishment re-establshcd. We did re
establlsh it. During the few years that
VIC hanged men Tor murder there We're
more murderers in the State OF Name
than we had before that time. We kept
that law on the statute books but a few
years
Charles Curry, in an able article in the
American Law Review OF January-Fcbru-
airy, 1902, says: 1t Is admitted that the
death penalty does not appear to be OPP
posed to justice, for when the death OF 1t
man is necessary for the preservation OF
.aaio y ~ +. y lrax ~, loui+in,atn I +IIrL
however, it should be abolished and it
appears to be fast dying out in all civil
lied countries. 1t tends TO make rhine
too notorious, it inspires a morbid ten
dcncy to commit crime; it has a brutallz-
ing effect upon society and IS irrcvocablc.
/ believe that 50 long as it exists there
Will be unreasonable and fcrocious mob
outbursts."
The Rev. William Roberts, of Bristol,
England, visited one hundred and sixty
- ~cn %convIcts under sentence OF death,
ano Of these one hundred and sixty-four
had Mtnesscd executions.
In my own experience as Solicitor /
prosecuted tWo boys for the murder OF
their fathers. The first one had served
seven years IN tie penitcntiary for laIce-
ny, and the second one saw the first one
hanged and the sccolsd murder was the
much more horrible one.
The National Conference of Charities in
1859 made the following report: The in
efficiency of criminal punishments at
present and throughout the ages is be-
licyed to be largely attributable to the
spirit Of retaliation that pcrvades them,
at least 1t may be safely SAID that the
deterrent principle, if not an entire fail
ure, has not yet found its true place in
public punishment for crime. The san
gulnary punlshments of all history are
accompanied with numerous crimes, while
ofences have diminished as penalties
laye been softened.'
t must be evident to any reasonable
man who studies crime with reference TO
Its caEse and prevention, that he must
turn for i remedy in some other direction
than sevece punishments, especially il
Trey are resaiatory or reycngeful and
cruel.
SO the pulling question still is, why
this increase in crime and especially as to
homicide.
Benjamin Rush, who wrote much and
wisely on the subject OF punishment, held
that the death penalty increased homi-
c'des by lessening the horror OF taking
away human life"
Lombraso, perhaps the greatest student
upon the subject, thinks it is because we
haSe atudled the crime and not the Grim
maj. Our state Constitution seems to
concur III TINS view. Its language is s.The
OBJECT OF punishment being not only to
satisfy justice, but also to reform the Of
lender and thus prevent crime"
BOISE says: Most Of the tremendous
burden Of crime is due to ignorance or
neglect III the training OF Children He
asserts that education is the chief spcci.
ic Yet discovered for the reduction and
prevention OF crime. This accords with
the doctrine Of Solomon.
\ writer IN the Forum some wears arm
undertook to show that the increase o,
CRIME was due to the increase in the ne
OF intoxicating liquors.
senator ~Berenger, the great French
statesman attributes it to the laws and
Ptnai institutions Of the land and after
many years OF effort he has secured the
passage OF q reformatory law which it j.
4 10 IInfG n Ig1t HI,