The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-08
THE LEADEN STEPS OF JUSTICE
SENTIMENT FOR CRIMINALS.

batticd the detective skill employed by
the city police and the shcriff's Office.
In these cases after the furry of the
c>citcment subsidized. aud the clues had
cooled, the effort, to apprehend were
seemingly relaxed, aud these have passed
| beyond the memory Of men.
1t seems strange that these crimes
have been shroudcl i'll mystery, which
the ingenuity of the police and the shcr-
if have failed to unravel, and are still
shroudcd i'll the deepest gloom.
Who is safe when the red-handed
murderer can commit his dastardly
crime with such cunning that he feels
safe and is secure from the clutches Of
| the law?
Is the system at fault?
In the first place, after the victim has
been buried he is soon forgotten. as is
the widow bercfl of her support, and
sentiment is directed to the criminal, if
pcrchancc i'll jail, receives consideration
and encouragement and almost worship
from a class who innateiy must sympa
thizc with crime. or whose mind is i'll
clined to perversion.
In these cases the effort is not directed
to subserve the ends of justice but to
cheat Justice. to trample law under foot
to secure the acquittal of the accused by
any means or methods which will lead
to this end
No man, no matter what his condition
in life, should ever be condemned before
guilt IS proven. and every man is enti-
tied To and must have a fair trial, but it
is reasonable and in the fullest require
mcnis of law that one suspected, that
one around whom are webs OF circum
>tantial evidence. should be held until ii
can be established beyond reasonable
doubt that he is innocent.
What is needed is less sympathy for
the criminal and more iuslice-thc ns-
Jice which shall be meted out fairly and
tearlessly and honestly.
Is the criminal system in this country
obsolete? Is it travesty of good inten-
tons and purposes unfufllcd?
Take, for instance, the murder of
ilaikon II such a crime had been per,
petrated in Paris, France, the moment
the body had been discovered, the whole
criminal machinery would have been III
activity. Every man and woman room
ing in the house of the woman and the
man suspected. and every one connected
directly or indirectly with the man or
the woman. if not arrested, would be
shadowcd. and each one apprehended
would have been kept in seclusion. The
calls of relatives or friends would have
been denied. and whatever communnca-
ton would be through the intermediary
Of the sheriff or some of his deputies.
| And then there would follow. as speed
| ily as passible, an investigation which
would not fail to establish and fix the
guilt where it should be rested.
In Shreveport. for instance, when one
| is held for. say serious crime, he Is
privileged at stated hours to receive the
visits or calls of relatives and friends,
and in instances his meals are supplied
from the restaurant and he shares IN
measure the comforts of his home. 1t
is not strange that imprisonment is
robbed of its terrors and its dlsComforts
and that one guilty of crime is comfort
ed in the anticipation of an early re-
lease.
| In France, for instance, every particle
of evidence, every straw. IS searched and
followed, nothing is permitted to escape
no matter how trivial, and finally when
the inquiry is completed with very rare
exceptions the chain of circumstance
becomes so strong and positive as to Sc
cure the guilt or the innocence OF the
one involved beyond a reasonable doubt
| What is needed imperatlvely Is les:
sentiment and more justice for one who
is held for crime.
Even the worst criminal is entitled IL
and must receive fair trial, but to III
vest him with or to permit him to enJo,
any special privilege suggested by maud
lin sentimentality is a reflection on th'
law abiding community, d1scred't o
Justice and a mockery of the law.
The steps Of justice are suthcientl.
leaden without being burdened with an,
sentimcntality for criminals.
The people who revere the law AM
| |aDpreciate the full value of life ar
thinking. seriously and calmly, shall TIN
Hanson case lapse as other horribl
icrimes: and shall the guilty finally es
cape justice?
IL