Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1912-09-03
INDEFENSIBLE ARGUMENT.

The opponents of capital pun
ishment have gone into Mysteries
over the electrocution recently
of an unusual number of condemned
criminals at one time They might
as well save their sympathy. The
"blackening" of states reputation
by that state wedding out crime by
the removal of the criminals beyond
the possibility of their repeating
their crimes is the slliest of non
sense. These prisoners were guilty
of the grossest of crimes; the Grim
inal instinct seems to have been
bred within them, and so firmly es-
tablished that reformation would
have been impossible. Then why
remand them to prison with the
presumption that in a few years at
the most they would be turned
loose upon the public to repeat
their acts of violence? If a rattle
snake sinks his fangs in you do you
permit him to escape to repeat the
operation upon another, or allow
a mad dog to bite the second person
If that act can be avoided? The
criminal, the person with a passion
so vile that it cannot be controlled,
who is so stepped in blood as to
make his presence a menace to
society and who has showed his
depraved nature by former acts of
violence against the human race, is
no better than the dog or the snake
and the quicker he is removed
from the condition of possibilities
,,T 1. f, 20.
himself and society alike. All per-
sons who commit murder are not
necessarily depraVed. The person
who kills invOluntarily or in the
potection Of his own life or that of
his family may be and probably is,
an exemplary moral and law abid
ing citizen, but he does not come
within the class at bar. 1t is
against the confirmed criminal, the
vulture preyng upon virtue; the
degenerate who could no more
change himself than the midnight
might become MONDAY, that society
demands protection. It is not
enough to say they shall be con-
fined; confined criminals of this
class break out and commit crimes
the most revolving. Maudlin SYM
pathy also plays a part upon thin
bloOded executive and too often
the public is made the victim of the
misdrected act. ''If thine arm Of
fend thee cut it off " If a person
commits a heinous crime with every
condition indicating its repetition
in the event he has the opportunity.
1at him OH thp fate Gnnti-
ment is a nice thing to contemplate
but it absolutely refuses the protec-
tion to self the family and to soci-
ety.-Sheridan Sun.
The above so nearly represents the
rgument of the supporters of capital
that it may be taken as
he complete defense of the system, |
nd yet. when subjected to the light
( truth, how weak and indefensible |
appears. The sun. like other news /
apers, and men who support the |
cath penalty makes the mistake of |
sserting that those who oppose it, do |
OF believe in punishment for the |
riminal. In the first place, the sun
lys these prisoners were guilty of /
ne grOssest of crimes" How does .
ne esteemed sun know this? 1t
oesn't know, and il is merely taking |
ne word of the jury that said so.
erhaps that jury was right and
gain, it might have been wrong
upposc the prisoners had possessed a
'rtune and, by the employment of
1mpetent legal talent. had taken ad-
antage of every technicality the law
ermits. what then? Isn't il possible
nat the jury might have rendered
inerent verdict? How many times
as this been done. in the recollection
the editor OF the sun? Again, by
hat right does the sun say these
zen were SO stepped In crime that
reformation was impossible p" Again.