The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-09-13

titude of the people towards a,d ~ ,r- criminals. A vicious unreasonedS ,s da- reasoning sympathy for criminals, +ha baunching the administration t,.,,,rt criminal law. This is a strong statt .,,a,, but every honest and intelligent ,aha must confess 1t is true. In Neslat- county a man was convicted for shGs,a ing another in the back five times, ai- there was not single extenuating cit cumstance.
 The jury. with some hesitation, re- turned a verdict of guilty and reeom- mended the defendant to the mercy of the court. I kept the Jury standing while sentenced the defendant. giving him the ma ximum punishment under the statute, and I gave the jury to understand, in language which they will never forget, that they had just about as nigh a con ception of mercy in the administration of criminal justice as a hog has of Sunday If they did not feel like fools, they did not feel natural.
 Recommended Mercy.
 In Noxubee county man was convict ed of crawling under the house of an other at night and polxing his pisto through a crack in the floor and shooting his victim three times while at supper The fury, constrained by the evidence tt return a verdict of guilty nevertheless recommended the defendant to the mere, of the court.
 | In the same county at the same tern of the court a sEan way-1ayed another Il the night time, hiding himself in fenc :, corner, and shot his victim as he passed along the road The jury recommende' | the defendant to the mercy of the court | It is -s)ssible that criminals on the Jur'e 1 in each of these cases coerced the rec l concentrations for mercy. But these yer diets on their faces mean, If they meai anything, that the jurors sympathlze' | with assassins.
 At the same term of the court a mai was convicted for ruining another wit brass knucks, making him an invalid io life When the time came Tor me t' sentence the defendant, I was presented with a monster petition, asking Tor light penalty. I threw the petition asid in disgust and proceeded to infiict th maximum penalty under the statute.
 Illustrate Public Sentiment.
 These cases, in my oninon. fairly Illus trate public sentiment ct crime an' criminals. Any man W Nt under stand that crime is VI II action has failed the child's catechisr
 sympathize with cri'
 pathize with the | disease or the pnt
 before the crlimii
 Another malady the
 ministration of the cri1i.. in this state is the hysterica.
 it ought to be administered so
 body will be hurt.
 1 It is a judicial crime to so administel the law It was designed and 1t Is o the very genius to hurt it's violators. the criminals of the Tenth district do no want to get hurt, it will be well for then to get out of the range of this court Tn 1 direct tendency and moral effect of erim l triumphant will be the subversion of al | civil government and the abrogation O all law If the criminals of this stat succeed in their plot and dabolica scheme to overthrow all law, then we wi be remanded to our primeval state befor civil government was organized. A ma
 can then only claim what he is able t defend by brute force.
 The sanctity of home, chastity of wife and innocence of daughter may all b swept away by a more powerful brut force. If the moral conscience of tn people can be aroused and their eye