The Washington herald., 1913-11-10
ny FRANCES sHAFFER.

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places, its lighter seal upon the death
sentence for the murder Of her husband.
Mrs. Bessie Wakefield will pay the ex-
treme penalty of the Connecticut law
next March, and viii be the first woman
executed In that State since Colonial
days.
are astir to have the sentence commutef
to life Imprisonment. and public senti-
ment generally Is opposed to capital pun
ishment In her case, not because Of any
extenuating circumstances. but on the
ground of her womanhood. For In Con-
necticut, as everywhere else, there II re-
luctance to sentence woman to DEATH
and outspoken aversion to the last act
on the avenging gallows. And men and
women are urging that the State be
spared the ignominy Of executing a wom-
an for a crime Of which she has been
found guilty.
Yet, her "evil genius" and accomplice
In the murder has been convicted and
condemned with her; and not a voice is
raised, praying for mercy for him.
And is It unfair riscrimination7
Matter of Sentiment.
without any notion how other wom-
en- regard the matter and without any at
SELF" one thinks II distinctly to mans
credit and his sense of Justice that he
revolts at the thought Of the gallows or
any other death penalty for woman.
II asked for an explanation of his ap-
parent willingness to see a man pay for
the extreme of all crimes and his ab-
horrence to the penalty where a womap
Is concerned. quite likely he would de-
clare II all a question of sentiment And
L.. -
the more for permitting sentiment to In
fiuence him.
But is that all-and should II be all?
II woman stood at both ends OF the
question-where the laws are made and
where they are carried out-then to let
the quality OF mercy prevail In her case.
and there alone, would rankly SAVIOR of
injustice, and no fair-minded person could
count 1t right Because she is a free
moral agent, has a mind to distinguish
the right from the wrong and knows
punishment must follow in the dreary
wake OF crime.
But she stands at neither end OF the
question. has no voice in the making
OF laws, no part in the court room. eN-
cept as a culprit The jury, the bench,
the bar. that figured in the trial of
Mrs. Wakefield-all were composed Of
men, very likely men who tried to be
fair and true But not once. all the
way from the crime TO the sentence of
doom, was womans viewpoint consId-
cred. Yet one feels fairly safe in as
serting that by far the majority of wom-
en-, II theirs was not a silent part, would
be outspoken in registering disapproval
Of capital punishment, no matter who
the culprit-
ShnulH ne Nh In
IT is often said-wisely said, too-that
there should be no sex in crime" But.
in justice, one cannot leave II there, for
more is involved ''in crime than the
last act Someone. or a set OF some
ones must determine what shall be
classed as crime and what the penalties
shall be-. some minds must prevail in
determining the measure Of guilt and
pronouncing the extent Of punishment.
And II 1t is inst that there should be no
question OF man or woman at the last,
is II fair that man should determine
every step of the way leading thereto?
One is quite frank to say that she
would not care to be in the place OF d
man serving as juryman or as judge In !
a murder trial in which a woman was
the guilty factor. Because laws are
made to be obeyed, and society must be |
protected against the murderous and |
those who are less vicious, whether they |
chance to be men or women.
But one is as frank to add that II |
she found herself in SO trying a posi- i
ton, she most certainly would try TO /
meet II like a man. recognizing |
woman's aloofness from the law. from
the courts and all the high places where
justice is meted out; and she would feel
very strongly bound to temper justice
with mercy. More than that to admit
that equality must enter into the story
before Justice can begin.
Should Pay Same Penalty.
II one might eliminate all the distinc-
tons that set men and women apart in
the making and executing OF laws, then
one would say. most heartily, that a
woman who commits a crime, from the
greatest to the least, should pay the
penalty, even as a man. For that is no
time for sentiment, appealing as 1t al
ways is.
But the distinctions are too markell
to ignore, and so long as they exist.
MADAME's GLOVE BOX.