The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-03-05
tice. deserve such protection.

tiCes uoSeTR6 SUCH pIs'tcCttoh.
Certainly his judgment Of right and
wrong is very obtuse, or bis sympathy
very badly perverted, who would pro-
tect the life of murderer at the bare
expense OF the safety Of the life Of 9th
ers, very probably innocent, far nobler
by nature than he and worth far more
to God and to the State, A deliberate
murderer, or any murder, weighs pow
erfully against the safety OF the life OF
honest citizens aud against the general
interest of the social body. But what
is man like Lincoln. Carmack, or any
honest citizen, worth to humanity and
to the State? We should be just to the
capital offender, but whom are we I'M
der special obligations to God and to
society to protect. the honest or the
vicious characterY Whom should we
choose to protect, Christ or Barabuss
In this connection it ought to be easy,
it seems to me, for anyone who is at all
open to conviction or possesses a COM
mon comprehension to understand the
divine justice of God, when, in the
Mosaic law, he Acknowledgement &C
cording to the Bible-that Whose kill
eth any person, the murderer shall be
put to death by the mouth of wit
nesses;" and also to reconcile that di-
vine justice with the divine mercy. The
Almighty in divine justice, would de-
cree the death of the man slayer by
law, because, in His divine mercy, He
would defend the life of the innocent
from the murderer. And who shall
say that divine justice, love and mercy
are not thus evenly and judiciously bal
anced by the infinite wisdom.
1t is commended, though, that impris-
onment for life would be equally or
more effective in preventing murder
than would capital punishment. But
let us examine a little such conten-
ton.
1t must be admitted, should think,
that that penalty is the most efficient
in preventing crime, that is the most
deterrent to the criminal. The law, and,
consequently, the protection of life is
the first natural law of animal or human
being. Self-preservation of life is the
deepest and most persistent instinct or
impulse of the human heart; and man
in his normal condition shrinks from
death and battles for life to the last ex-
tremity. Hence it must follow that
capital punishment, which entails the
destruction of the criminals or the
murderer's life, his dearest possession
must be the most deterrent and arrest
ing of all penalties to the murderer.
And if that be true land if l have es-
tablished my preceding premises), there
can be no reasonable doubt of the JUS
tice of capital punishment for murder,
especially premeditated murder, and of
the State having the moral right, even
being under very solemn moral obi
CATION to the people, to establish and
judiciously execute such a penalty for
capital crimes.
But if some will still contend that
Imprisonment for life is the more eff
fcient in proven ting murder, will just
insist that they will consider how MUIR
derers, condemned to be executed, will
do all in their power to get the sentence
COMMITTED to life Imprisonment.
1t is urged. however. that capital pun
ishment is SO brutal within itself, that
it encourages rather than prevents
crime. Among an abnormal or men
tally infamed people that might be
true, but among perfectly sane peo-
pie, who are capable of seeing only the
stern necessity Of iustice'in it, fail to
see how it could have other than a
SOLDERING and arrestlng effect. And if
capital punishment does not arrest
crime, but rather encourages it, it is
evident that the Almighty made mis-
take in inserting it in the Mosaic law;
and SO far as He has not discovered it,
or at least seen fit to correct it, that
duty to the race has been left to some
Tennessee solons to perform.
If capital punishment is repulsive
and barberous practice, it is one that is
forced on honest citizens for their own
preservation by brutal characters, and
so long as we have such characters
among us, and they persist in killing
o+borc Tho solid vir;la apd copcihla |