The Parker post., 1913-02-22


abolition of capital punishment.
have thought that you Will be talr
enough to print in the columns of
your paper some of the arguments
against capital punishment, thereby
permitting your readers to review
both sides of the question.
''It was Lord Macauley who, in
his Essay on Milton" said, in ef-
feet, that the difference between
poetry and prose was in the fact that
in poetry the foundation was false,
but the reasoning true, while in
prose, to be logical, both the foun-
dation and the reasoning therefrom
must be true. The editorial in The
Post of Feb Sth forcibly reminded
me of that epigram-not because OF
the poetical nature of the argument,
but because. while the reasoning was
true it was laid upon false founda-
ton.
"The entire Mosaic law in deal
ing with offenders, is built upon the
basis that eXpiation, punishment, or
revenge must be made. The people
to whom these laws were given, be
it remembered, were half civilized no
mads. They had not risen high in
standards of morals or ethics. Their
instincts were the instincts of wild
barbarians, made dOubly licentious
by recent release from bondage. Few
of them had the vision of a Moses,
or an Aaron Drastic laws were need
ed to hold them. Are conditions the
same today?
HAS the world progressed no
further than barbarism? If not,
when will We become civilized?
HAS Christianity progressed no
further than Moses? If not, when
will we catch up with Jesus Christ?
HAS penology progressed no fur
ther than revenge? If not, when will
we become altruistic, or even human?
HAS Arizona progressed no fur
ther than the days of the bad men"
and "vigilantes''? If not when will
We catch up with the twentieth cen
tury?
We search in vain through the life
of Christ for one word, one act favor
ing or condeming capital punishment,
or, indeed, punitive measures of any
sort
From the Old Testament idea of
punishment and revenge, to the mod
ern Tea of reformation and rehabili-
tation is a long journey. But to-
day there is new note in our pen
ology-it is reformative, not punitive.
"There is no criminal class" as
such If three were the entire class
would have been wiped out long ago
not wiped out by incarceration in
penitentiaries, nor by gallows and
and electric chairs Had such a class
existed it would long ago have ceas-
ed to be, through aenemia, inertia,
desuitude, decay, death! Criminals
are recruited from every strata of
society. No class is immune. In
the vast majority of cases these
persons become criminal because of
economic and social conditions over
which they have no control. The
vast majority are not naturally de
praved' and wicked We are be-
ginning to realize that these "crim-
| inals" were not damned from birth,
nor did they seek damnatiOn for
Lhemselves-they are damned by so
ciety. and society is beginning to
realize this fact.
1--WE are just now about willing
to admit that the SO called criminal
| classes are not criminal at all of
their OWL volition, but are criminal
because they must be, because the
condition of life fostered by society
make them criminal
And we are moving step further
- We are beginning 10 InlnK eS,
THINK! ooh Lord, how long" it
took us to begin to actually THINK
The thought runs something like
this:
eff criminal tendencies are more
results of environment than volition
or choice; and if there is good in
all men. which under proper con-
dlttonE can be brought to the surface
then it heEooves us to exert all eff
forts TO bring that good to the sur
face. To reform the man in deed
and in fact. Life is too short for US,
individuals, communities or states, to
spend time and money trying to ''get
even So then We will remove this
man from his environment for a
time and endeavor to set him on the
right track, and after a while return
MIN to society an honorable and
useful citizen.