The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-07
DEATH PENALTY
ON THE DECREASE
Attorney General CARRIER Rem
ders Biennial Report
NEARLY $1,000 OFFENSES
Violations of Prohibition Law on the
Violations of Prohibition Law on the
Increase, and Many Murder Cases
Attributed Directly to Liquor.
No Report on jefferson.
BY HERVEY w. LAIRD.

Montgomery, November Especial y
That capital punishment is waning in
popular favor in Alabama is amply
shown in the biennial report of Attorney
General A. M. CARRIER, made to Gov. B.
eide In the state for the two years end
ing September 80. 1908, there were only
IA death penalties, 10 for murder and
one for assault on woman. For the
two years Immediately previous there
were IL less cases of the taking of human
| life, with 36 executions and with half the
number of cases in 1904 than is shown
| for 1868 there were AZ legal hangings
| Thus 1t would appear remarks the
attorney general. that the death PEN
atty is waning In popular favor with the
| juries throughout the state"
| It is interesting, just at this time at
least. that of 1858 cases OF homicide re-
ported from IS counties. 1874 are traceable
| to the influence of liquors. Colonel Gar
| Der asked the solicitors to give his in
| formation along this line, and only 45 or
the ST counties were reported. In every
one of the 1874 cases either the man killed
| or the slayer was under the influence of
| drink Ten of the 40 presented 100 per
| cent against 'oId man Alcohol every
killing being attended one way or an
other by the use of intoxicants. These
are the counties: Blount, Clay, Cleburne,
| Coffee. Henry. Lamar. Lauderdale, Nor
gan, Walker, Washington. There was
only one case in each of these counties,
| save that Clay had two, Walker four,
Washington three, Lauderdale nine.
Violations of the prohibition laws show
increase. with 1923 cases and 800 convic-
tons IN 1868. against 651 cases and 1878
| convictions the previous two years. The
percentage of killings in all the counties
was 50 chargeable to liquors. and in 81
| the parties were negroes. Solicitors of
| Butler. Conecuh, Crenshaw. Escambia
/ and Lowndes counties report that 70 per
! cent of the murders are traceable to
| liquors to the extent shown above.
| Strange to say, the large counties are
| low in the range just here. Mobile. about
which there has been a great agitation
concerning the prohibition laws, has only
q per cent, with Il per cent for Mont
gomery. also in the bad boy class as re-
| CARDS enforcement of the liquor acts past
and present Jefferson, the other big
! brother, did not report on this feature
of the criminal record.
Many Reversais.
| The per cent of reversals in criminal
| cases taken to the supreme court is not
materially decreasing, however much the
| belief maintains that there should be
large falling off. With 314 appeals in
! 1868. there were 1O5 revensals, total of
-txs
| 1884, when they ran to 46 per cent,
| 1856 10 per cent. OF the 1884 showing,
William N. Martin, then attorney general,
said: More than half of these reversals
| were upon purely technical questions
which did not go to the fairness of the
! trial or the Righteousness of the convic-
ton" He also said, speaking of the
doctrine of error without injury: Such
rule ought. in my Judgment, to be abol-
ished. 1t has no rightful place in a.
system of Jurisprudence designed for the
punishment and suppression of crime
OF this question, now one of the most
important to all students Of criminology.
| Attorney General CARRIER takes special
| note, advising that the law be so amend
| ed that the court must to reverse any
| case, say afhrmatively that injury re-
| suited to the defendant. instead of pro-
ceeding under the theory now in practice.
| which holds that the court must be sat
isfed that mo injury resulted therefrom
to the defendant"--a conclusion, In the
opinion of the attorney general. difficult
to reach. Colonel CARRIER finds the prao-
| tice of giving special charges dangerous.
advising that the law be amended to
read: THE Judgment should not be re-
versed for the refusal of a special charge
requested by appellant II the proposition
embodied in such charge Is substantially
covered by the oral charge of the court,
4
afforatively appears from the record that
| tho trial court failed or refused to charge
the jury upon the proposition embodied
in the refused charge
Bad Old Law Condemned.
The attorney general recommends the
repeal of Section $3.50, in every code since
1875, which seeks to punish any imrni-
grant for failure to pay back passage
money advanced to him. Fraud Is not
made an element of the offense," says
Colonel CARRIER. land the statute Is clear
ly unconstitutional and an attempt to
imprison for debt" Reports show that
while 1t has brought down much criti-
cism upon the state, no effort was ever
made to enforce it. 1t is also thought
that it may have a serious lettering
effect upon immigration to the state, a.
thing very much desired by its best
citizens.
Another change thought to be of vital
Importance is in the use of insanity
plea In murder cases. In the opinion of
the attorney general this has been a
failure oftener than success in carry
ing out the humane purposes of those
| who sought first to make vehicle of
righteousness and judgment 1T is now
perverted frequently from its true use'
says the writer, into an instrument of
defense in a class of homicides never
contemplated. Technically. evidence on
the issue of insanity should not be con-
sidered by the jury in passing upon the
issue Of guilt vel non" With the ina
bility of the jury as a human agency to
separate facts under each plea, ''the
special plea of insanity often becomes
shield for the murder and results in a
shocking miscarriage Of justice. The