Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-08

Vas Recently Repeated Just Shown Here W men
Murderesses Were Beheaded in the Same Old Prison.
vliers most terrible of prisoners; Of Queen Marie An
tonette and of the countless other women good and
bad who had been done to death, often with horrible
tortures, in other days
Executions of women have occurred more frequently
in Germany than in other civilized country in re-
cent years.
An execution which attracted much attention was
that of Crete Beer, at Freiberg, in Saxony in 1909
She was a very handsome and accomplished young
woman and the daughter of the Mayor of Freiberg
She murdered her fance with remarkable heartessness
and deberation.
The infection of the death penalty upon a woman is
evidently becoming rare occurrence in the civilized
world and there many reformers who say that 1t
should be stopped before the total abolition of
capital punishment. In the United States, the sentenc
ing of a to DEATH which rarely happens Of
ten as once in year. always arouses storm of protest
from humanitarans but it would be rash to say that
the States to relieve women from the supreme
penalty altogether
In France is sent to the guillotine,
although the law permits it. Italy follows the same
example. In Russia capital punishment except under
martial law, has been abolished.
In England women still subject to the death
penalty and executed last year but the courts
tend to show more leniency toward the weaker sex
In the hafcivized countries of the East women
punished severely for their offences Shan
men, These people are still living in the Middle Ages
For instance, in Persia recently woman was stoned
to death for bgamy an act which In man would nave
been crime.
In the year 1912 there execution of woman
in civilized country of Europe Or America and his
led humanarans to expect that the practise would
cease altogether, but they were mistaken.
Those who oppose the infection of capital punish
ment women base their position generally on the
genter and weaker constitution of the fair and
the fact that stands in the attitude of protector
toward woman. We do not infict The death penalty upon
little children and for the should not
infict it 1t is also urged that it is atrocous
to execute being who Is or may become mother.
The records prove that woman is less frequently
criminal than man. but on the other hand some women
commit crimes which for coldbloOded cruelty cannot
be surpassed. Indeed there seems ground for argu-
ing that more exceptionally cruel murders COM
mtted by women than by men.
Havelock Ellis, excellent English authority on
fundamental sex characteristics, has explained the
differences in the criminaity Of and women very
Interestingly:
"The forms of crminality into which most
easily fall the subtlest ike poisonng) and also
the more domestic forms. Murders assaults burgarles
thefts, commercial crimes-as well the so-caled
political crimes-are comparatively among women
In Italy for 100 men who commit any of these Of
lenses the proportion of is from six to below one
Poisoning, the other hand, is characteristcaly
feminine criminal method. In Greek days, Euripdes
makes Medea say that poison is the form of murder IN
which women excel and they have retained that pre-
eminence ever since In France the proportion is about
six women to thre or four men, so that about Two
thirds of detected of poisoning by women
In Italy, for every 100 found guilty of poisoning
there 1923 women
"Infanticide is the crime in which women stand out
in greatest contrast to men, in Italy, for example for
every 100 guilty of infanticide, there are Az
women.
women, as Quetelet long since remarked, are do
nestle criminals; this is simply because the home oc
cupies so large field in their life generally; even
against their children and apart from infanticlde
women commit crimes somewhat more frequently tnan
the fathers This has been the experience OF the so
cety the Protection of Children which in one year
obtained convictions against BAT fathers and 500
mothers. The crimes of women usually more
marked by cruelty than those of men"