Arizona republican., 1914-09-07
An Anti Ca pitaI Punishment Argument

We have read great many arguments gener-
ally theoretical fancifu against capital punish
ment all of them based conditions which are
not general But the following two by Phoenix
contemporary in support of the initiative bill
abolshing capital punishment think, the
baldest yet brought our notice;
The first is: IF your son. brother father
should kill a and sentenced to be hung.
would you not like to have Governor Hunt
prieve him?"
The other is: Suppose your son, brother
or father should be sentenced to death what would
YOU think capital punishment"
This is specimen of the argumentum ad
hominem, appeal to the person. to his passions
and his interests.
Most of us, in the of son. brother
father under sentence of death would like to have
him reprieved and than that, would like
have him granted full pardon We suppose
that nine out of every ten, larger pro-
portion of us, would prefer that punishment at
all should be dealt out to convicted brother
or father but our wish and interests in that
spect should not be permitted to stand against the
interests of society.
Likewise if we had a son. brother or father
under sentence of death, whatever previous
views may have been, would almost certainly
deprecate capital punishment In such circum
stances would regret that there laws for
the punishment of murderers at all. Such argu-
ments made only those who have relatives
standing in the shadow of the gallows to such
as fear that their relatives will some time stand
The first argument could easily and sensi-
bly, be changed to read like this: eff your son,
brother father should steal horse and should
be sentenced to ten in the penitenary, would
you not like to have Governor Hunt pardon him."
And the second might reasonably be changed to
this Suppose your own son, brother or father
should be sentenced to ten in the pententiary
for stealing a horse. what would you think of the
penalty attached to the crime of grand larceny?'
There is another kind of argument follows
Suppose your brother or father were
under sentence to pay fine of 500 for viola
ton of law and you had to furnish the money
- pay the fine what would you think of the law
under which the said fine imposed?' This is
specimen of the argumentum ad crumenam, an
argument to the pocket
very large majority of do not expect our
sons brothers and fathers to become murderers
and thieves but the most of us desire that we.
sons brothers. fathers wives daughters and
sisters may be protected by stern laws and their
rigid and honest enforcement against murderers
and thieves
These arguments have quoted appeal only
to the friends and relatives of convicted murderers
and to those who may be apprehensive that their
relatives will become convicted murderers.
We might put the argumentum ad homnem
in this form and it would then be neither worse
nor better than in the form proposed by con-
temporary "If your son, brother father should
be murdered and the murderer sentenced to
be hanged would you like to have Governor Hunt
reprieve him? And what would you think of CAPT.
tai punishment them" This, though neither better
nor worse than contemporaries proposition
would appeal larger number of people, fol
more people are socitous for the safety of their
relatives than apprehensve that their relatives
will become murderers.