The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-06-14
Examination by Torture
The Third Degree as Administered by the
American Police.
From The Outlook.

On the 18th of May a man, his wife
dered in their home in Freehold, New
Jersey. a Hungarian by the name of
Zastera. a farm hand employed upon
the place, discovered the bodies, gave
the alarm, and was arrested on suspi-
cion of having himself committed the
murders. The immediate ground of sus-
picion was his statement that he had
not heard the shots. and at least three
must have been fired. According to
the account in the New York Times,
Zastera was first shut up in a dark
cell for some hours, and then SUBJ
mitted to a searching personal examin-
alton conducted by successive relays
of detectives, who kept up the inqui-
sftion throughout the night, allowing
him no sleep. The conclusion of the
proceeding, in the early morning, is
thus described by the Times:
Finally the vest that had been worn
by Sheppard was put on him, in his
left hand the skirt worn by the dead
servant was placed, while he. was told
to lay his right hand upon Bible that
had been opened at random. He had
already said that he was a Catholic
pointed out to him what would
become of his soul according to Cath
Ollie teaching if he swore falsely. Zas-
terra remained standing in this position
for twenty minutes. Then he took a
seat on sofa, evidently in deep dis
tress.
noticed that some of the blood
from the servants skirt which had
got an his hand had marked verse
in the Bible. Looking at it closer, he
saw three little smears of blood.
There's blood on that verse; he
said to Zastera land do you know
what the verse is?'' He then read
it to Zastera. 1t was the one hundred
and ninth verse of the One HundTedth
and Nineteenth Psalm, which reads:
MY soul is continually in my hand:
yet do 1 not forget the law THAT
applies to what I have told you about
your SOUL said -
The prisoner then read the verse for
himself Then Mr. asked sharply;
Weren't you in the parlor when Mrs.
Sheppard came downstairs"
Yves. + was. said ZasteTa
"And you killed herr"
eyes," said Zastera, barely above a
whisper
We do not vouch for the accuracy Of
this narrative in its details; we reprint
it as we find 1t. But it is a dramatic
of a method now much in
use by certain of the detective police,
and known under the euphemistic ap-
pellation of the third degree The
method is inhuman. Illegal and useless.
The third degree is inhuman: that
needs no demonstration.
The third degree is illegal: it violates
the plainest and most fundamental
principles of AngloSaxon law: the
PRINCIPLES that no man shall be re-
uufred to eliminate himself; that the
examination of the accused shall be in
open court: that he shall have the aid
Of counsel: and that he shall not be
subjected to torture. Every one of
these principles is violated by the
third degree" Mental torture il no
better than physical torture: counsel
s denied: the examination is in secret;
md no brutal ingenuity is lacking to I
,oerce the accused to testify against i
himself Says the Court of Appeals Of -,
New York State: ITO be admissible,
statements made by one charged with
,r suspected of crime must be volun-, |
AIRY. fairy obtained. and not procured c
w inuu sitorial compulsinn or other .
improper. means Statements extorted
w the third degree are not volun-
ary are not fairly obtained, and are /
procured by ihquisitorial compulsion
The third degree is useless; it proves +
nothing concerning the guilt of the ac-
used: it proves only the brutality ana
he incompetence Of some of the mod
rn police methods. Centuries of his
ory have demonstrated the untrust- d
vorthiness of confessions wrung from
he accused by torture. The curious
eader may find superahun7ant evidence /
f this in DR.. Lea's History OF the 6