The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-12-21

cure him and probably the compile
ton of his sentence would not have
done so. His pardon certainly had
! the effect of removing in his mind
the dangers to himself of violating
the law. The pardon board will prob
ably be called upon again to pass on
his case before the new sentence ex-
pires. In the case of the one woman
in the state penitentiary, whom Gov.
ernor Burke told an eastern audience
during the recent trip of the govern
ors' special, he would pardon at
once If he had the power, she was
found guilty Of poisoning a helpless
child who was in her power, for the
purpose of procuring the insurance
policy on the childs life. The fiend
whether man or woman-who
could deliberately plan and execute
such diabolical crime is outside
the demands of mercy. Such an in
dividual is a menace and danger to
society. If set free, there is no rea-
son to believe similar crime would
not be committed against another
helpless victim If the opportunity af-
forded. That crime was conceived in
the deliberate moments All the
adherence 1t involved were flung
aside deliberately and the mind calm
ly planned the execution Of the de-
liberate judgment. 1t requires little
effort to distinguish between the foul
ness Of such a crime and one in
which the mind has been instantly
swept from its moorings by passion
or somel other overpowering influence.
The one calls for the fuller punish
ment; the other for the clemencys OF
pardon.
There is a growing sentiment even
amongst the adherents of the infiexi-
BILE execution of the laws demands
In favor Of life sentence instead of the
death penalty. This is based on the
theory that courts may and. in fact,
do err, and that IL an error is made,
such reparation may be made as is
possible. thing that would be inn
possible il the death penalty were in
fiicted. This sentiment which is a
healthy one within its proper limita-
tons, has unconsciously spread to all
grades Of crime and the public judges
the case, not on its merits, but on the
amount OF sentiment developed 1t
will be remembered that hundreds of
letters. the most OF them from women,
were sent to Governor Mann OF Vir-
ginia asking him to grant a respite
To Beattie, the wife murderer. These
letters were not influenced by the
question of whether Beattie had kill
ed his wife while she was in his pow
sr and defenseless, but by the facts
that he was a young man and it was
70 cruel to take the life OF one just |
entering upon It's threshold. The |
writer forgot the young wife who |
was lured TO her death and cowardly |
shot by the man who should have
been her avenger.
The institution Of the whipping post |
in New Jersey has broken up the /
crime Of wife beating for which the
whipping post was the punishment. 1t /
has not reformed the real characters /
OF the men who were addicted to that |
pastime. but the dread OF the sting
ing lash on the naked back is a
wholesale deterrent to the commission 1
cf the crime.
The wholesale pardoning OF GRIM
mails regardless of the character OF
those pardoned destroys the fear or
the law In the mind OF the criminally
and not only makes repeti-
ton Of the crime possible as was the
ease with Wilson Kell. but ii destroys