The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-04-20
FOR
KOREANS

In regard to the five Koreans who
are to be hanged for murder on May
9, a prominent lawyer yesterday eX-
pressed his opinion as follows:
Without condemning the decision of
the Governor or the case as presented
to him. / believe that the community
gave too little attention to the matter
as whole. In other words the Gov
ernor has been deprived of IT, advice
and expression of public opinion which
would not have been wanting had the
community taken the interest in the
case that would have been taken if
the people condemned were better
known.
THE hanging is to take place within
two weeks and practically the case
goes by default so far as real public
opinion ie concerned. There are no
good grounds for contending that the
act of the men who are condemned
was other than a lynching. Though
Oriental in the way it was done, to wit,
by barbarous torture, but bearing in
mind that punishment by courts is
aimed almost exclusively at prevention,
it is a question whether these men
should be hanged
Some years ago, prominent white
merchant of Hamakua, in company
with three or four other white men,
undertook to castigate and intimidate
a japanese storekeeper whose only
offense was that he had started a rival
| store and was sailing goods too cheap
! ly. Following up the castigation, they
strung the man up TO a telephone post,
not long enough as they thought to
strange him to death. He was finally
killed, however, hut the ringleader in
| this affair waa sentenced to only eight
years imprisonment. Though the ele-
ment of extreme torture was not want
! ing and thoug. the provocation was
less then nil, nc one demanded the
execution of These offenders nor was
there any occasion for IL. The SEN
tence proved nuhicent and effectively
put a stop to Cnything of similar
nature and the Japanese government
as evidence of its satisfaction with the
trial and sentence, decorated the Off
GERS who conducted the prosecution.
MANY years ago, n native religious
| fanatic with his followers I'm Kona
stoned white sheriff to death and
We're punished by few years impris-
onment. and justly so, for the crime
was bit of fanatlc'sm and lacked the
elements of selfish murder for private
, ends.
These Koreans certainly should not
go unpublished; life Imprisonment
however, is great punishment tC
anyone. The punishment had far bet
| IA ha.
cause there is always a reaction, agains
excess and the moral effect upon 9th
ers, which is the met vital point to be
gained, is thus lost. If the effect on
the 5000 Koreans here is that these
men We're hanged because of the in
difference of the community and the
lack of influence back of the prisoners
the value of the prosecution and con-
viction as deterrent, is weakened
THE argument that the greater the
penalty the less likely people are tC
commit crime, has been exploded q
| thousand times. The fact that these
Koreans told others of what they haC
done supports the proposition that, il
a certain way, they considered and be-
lieved that they were executing justice
upon the deceased. The cruelty prac-
tised is apt to blind one in making
a true estimate of the nature of Their
offense and the motives back OF IL. II
seems TO me that more time should
be given to think the thing over anC
the Governor is not the one to refus'
II, particularly If the question hai
largely gone by default, perhaps
through our own indifference and in
attention TO civic duty"