Evening times-Republican., 1913-09-30
ATTORNEY FOR IOWA CONVICT
GOES BACK 1900 TO ESTABLISH
RULE.
QUOTES eIRLE IN ATTACK ON
lNpETERMiNArE SENTENCES
Alleges Present Statute 10 Unehristian
and citSs Quotations From First
Corinthians, oalations and Luke Il
"Lifs Sentences For Minor offsnsss"
Bible as Part Of Code.
pec,al to Times-Repub,ican.

Special to Times-Republican.
Des Moines. Sept. so.-A good deal
has been said in criticism Of the courts
for going back q long way for prece-
dents in the law and perpetuating the
ideas Of immature civilization; but
they will have to go some to get back
farther than some Of the lawyers are
willing to go in search Of authorities
to sustain their position.
Attorney for appellant in habeas
corpus case involving the indetermi-
nate feature of the state law as to
punishment for crimes. in brief just
filed with the supreme court, goes back
1900 years or thereabours and quotes
freely from the New Testament on
criminal law. Whether these prece-
dents will be accepted by the Iowa SUI
preme court as good remains to be
seen. They may regard some of them
as outlaWed.
This is in the case of McKinnon vs.
Warden Sanders. The appellant seeks
to secure release from life term for
assault on girl by showing that the
court ought to have hxed a definite
term instead Of until lawfully re-
leased" His attorney, Liston McMilien,
claims that the board Of parode has no
authority in such a case, as this means
life Imprisonment. and whatever action
might be taken by the governor is not
by operation Of law; hence 1t Is the
duty of the court to release the con-
Wet now.
Law 10 "Unchristian." /.
"The doctrine Of the attorney general
that the legislature has power to or
dain one universal penalty-life i'm
prisonment or death-for all sin and all
grades and phases Of sin whether great
or small is abhorrent to christian civil
izat1on," says the attorney for the con-
vict. "as we are taught that men shall
be beaten with many or few stripes
according to the circumstances of their
degree Of incorrigibility. duke 12:
47-S)
1.-THE constitution Of Iowa is dated
In the year Of our Lord, eighteen hun
dred fifty-seven.' This makes the bible
q part Of our fundamental law and the
only unamendable part.
1.-THE legislature, a ordinate
branch Of the government. has no
power to drag the coordinate judicial
branch down from the rock Of truth re-
vealed and established by the sermon
on the mount, which declares against
the ancient doctrine Of life for life, eye
for eye. tooth for tooth, stripe for
stripe, wound for wound. burning for
burning. Our criminal Jurisprudence.
prior to the evolution Of our board Of
parole was based commensurately but
not specifically, on this Mosaic princi-
pie of ex talonis. which our Lord
taught must be eliminated from the
civilization that he came to establish"
There are citations from First Co
rinthians, Galations. Luke and other
authorities.
II the attitude taken by the attorney
for appellant is right In this case then
it would not be within the power Of the
legislature to establish the absolute in
determinate sentence principle which is
growing in favor everywhere. The low
er court held that the commitment was
regular and that the criminal must re-
main until his case Is acted on by the
governor or other body having author
itv