The Glenwood post., 1912-05-04
THE VICTORY OF SYMPATHY

question was raised in the district
court last Tuesday that is of far more
impo= than might at first blush
appear. Il relates to the svmpai thy
of presiding Judge and to what ex
tent that sympathy should be allowed
to color or influence the sentence pro-
nounced by a judge upon man con-
victed by jury of crime against
our laws.
Humanity is very human, and we
have found that judges, though having
to deal almost constantly with Grim
inals, are no exception to the rule Of
sympathy which governs in others and
we have seen numerous instances where
justice was tempered with mercy, not
because of any mercy to which the
criminal was himself entitled, but be-
cause there has entered into the prob.
lem the element of sympathy-humal
thy-for the wife or the children
or a poor, old mother with head bowed
low, some or all of whom were depend
ing on the convicted person for sup
port.
Sometimes we feel inclined to criti
else the court for the severity of a
sentence while there may be others
sitting in the room at the same time
who regret that the penalty was not
made heavier. 1t depends largely on
whose OK is gored. 1t makes a mighty
difference ON the extent to which YOU
are affected.
When sentence is passed on cat
tie thief there is scarcely a stockman
in the room who thinks the penalty
severe enough while those not inter
ested in the stock business are inclined
to consider the penalty too heavy,
especially if the defendant be wom
an, and there comes in our human sym
pathy again.
A case well illustrating the effect
the perhaps justitable influence of
sympathy in the face of duty was
brought up in the district court this
week when Judge Shumate sentenced
Gnaiia, Blonde and Crocko, recently
| convicted of two different offenses, the
frst two each to from one year to
eighteen months in the penitentiarv
| for each otfense or from two to three
years for each man, while Crocko was
given from eighteen months to two
| years for each otfense or double that
amount for both offenses.
Judge Noonan made very earnest
plea for his clients, based almost en-.
tirely on sympathy for the women and
little children and their helplessness
when left without the bread winner
and sought to have the penalties for
the two offenses run concurrently OF
simultaneously, thus cutting off just
half of the sentence and in his plea
setting forth the destitute condition il
which the women and children depend
ing on his clients would be left.
{
heard Judge Shumate's remarks in the
matter that he did not regard his sen
tence too severe, considering the crime
that had been committed, and while he
very aptly remarked that the men at
the time of the commission of the
crime should themselves have had some
regard for their families. he consented
to modify the order by withholdin =!
the mlttimus against Gnalia and Bi
ondo, pending their good behavior the
effect being to cut their sentences N
two and in the case of Croc ko, Judge
Shumate ordered a transcript forward
ed to the warden of the state peniten-
tiary with recommendation for pa.
role as soon after the completion of
| the first sentence as consistent with
the rules of the institution-and thus
| does human sympathy win.