The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-03-31
LAW MUST BE RESPECTED.

| tion Sheriff Sharp acted when ho re-
moved from the county Jail to the
State penitentiary, the three dcspcra-
does, John Hays, Harry Thornc and Lu.
elan F.. Driskell. But if there was
even q reasonable suspicion Of mob ut,
tack, he did well 1t must be noted.
however. that there have been no open
threats of lynching; there has been
no notorious talk for 1T; there has been
no assemblage of a suspicious charac.
fer that would lead one to suspect it Of
being the nucleus of a mob However
1t is well to be on the safe side, and
the sheriff is entitled 10 commcndation
IN acting upon his own best judgment
for the protection of his prisoners.
There has been but one mobbing in
this city, and that was by the police in
the old days Of church rule, When the
crazy negro shot Captain Burt the
police took the negro 10 The city hall,
pounded HIM near to death with their
clubs and then threw him out into the
street to be finished by the angry mob
which had assembled. 1t WAS an afro.
cious act the like of which was never
seen under a civilized government. And
it was revolving enough TO cause every
one to strongly reprobato any lynchings
for ever more.
just now the community is wrought
up to indignation because of the wholly
undcserved recommendation Of mercy
for Driskell, who shot down the police.
man who had him under arrest. The
failure of Justice, the defeat of the
plain intent of the law, outraged the
community sense of Justice; for If
murderer who shoots down the officer
who arrests him is entitled TO mercy
from the law, then it would be difficult
indeed to imagine q case whore mercy
could not he asked. Such a verdict Is
a direct notification of the law. In
this case those who make direct
connection between that mercy which
was so cruel to the community and the
brutal assassination Of Mr.. Fasscll can
not be much controvertcd. If priskell
had received the penalty due to his
crime, it is altogether likely that the
Fassell homicide would not have oc'
CURED.
The reason why this can fairly be
said is that all three of these
desperadoes, Driskell, Hays, and Thorne,
were exceedingly anxious TO make some
stipulation that would save them from
the death penalty, They were all
quite ready TO take the life of another,
but extremely anxious TO save their
own lives. it is the death penalty that
these wretches fear. They do not mind
beng sent 10 the penitentiary for life;
for there always remains IN their
breasts the hope that, either by the
exercise Of mistaken lenity or through
plotting in which they stand ready to|
do more murder, they may again get
their liberty, The presence of such
characters in prison is constant
menace to the lives of officers who have
them in custody; the felons are always
ready to take chances on making their
escape, and if they can succeed byI
killing their guards, they neither hesi-
tate a moment nor have a qualm of re-
morse.
While we must regret the sad state
into which our criminal Jurisprudence
has fallen by reason Of the mawkish
sentimentalities of misguided juries, the
fact remains that our
courts are the bulwarks of protection
to person and public. They must be
Loyalty and firmly, by all
good citizens. They cannot be super
seeded, much less abrogated. Still less
can they be supplanted by mobs. We
trust that the rumors of lyncbing
which were heard by Sheriff Sharp had
no real foundation. But in any case, il
is the duty of everyone to frown down
the mob spirit, and uphold in full the
jurisdiction of the courts in the en-
forcement of the laws in an orderly
way And it must be remembered that
what fault there is, is not with the
court officials, but with the jurors, who
have had it bored into them for two
generations that man-made law is not
worth regarding when it comes into
conflict with bigoted and ignorant per.
sonal opinions. 1t is unfortunate that
we have such community view. but
there is no right cure for it save
in enlightenment and in the inculcation
Of a proper respect for the law simply
because it is the law, as distinguished
from the pcrverso view that fanati-
cal perversity may justly overthrow
IT. Put the blame where it justly be-
longs, and not on the courts, But in the
meantime, cry down all mobbings,
and if any comes to the front, catch
the leaders, and make of them an
example that will discourage any who