The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1916-03-03
BEST WAY TO STOP LYNCHINGS
is TO MAKE JUSTICE SURE,
WRITES JUDGE GEOhGE HILLYER

The following article from the
Constitution is certainly timely and
worthy of careful study
Editor Constitution: Those are
splendid editorials you have been
having relative TO crimes and lynch
ings. The whole trend of that in
last Fridays daily constitution was
especially admirable, and hope and
believe much good will come from i
In fact, that editorial ought to be
text for what may be written and
said by others on the subject
"The greatest crying need of our
times, in my judgment, is reform in
the administration of the criminal
law. In the fullest accord with what
YOU have already said. | urge that
we should advocate these reforms,
prompted by feelings of charity and
kindness No good man should take
pleasure in seeing any body punish
ed, not even when the punishment is
Just. The desire should be to pre-
vent crime, not merely to punish It
The collective judgment of the whole
people, that which we call human
Justice should be like that of the
Almighty, who said, "As live, |
take no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, and the law, both human
and divine, imposes heavy penalties
on the guilty, not because the law
IS moved by resentment against those
who are already guilty, but because
swift and sure penalties is the best
and surest reliance to deter those
who are yet innocent from becoming
guilty, We have the law. but we do
no; enforce the law. The welI-goy-
erned family is apt to be Industrious,
innocent and happy. And just so,
no people of any state are Industrious
innocent and happy unless they are
well governed.
In a criminal trial strange to
say the law shields the prisoner by
maze of technicaIities and delays;
SO that to Discerning public it looks
like the guilty party is the only per-
son in the court house who has any
rights that are sacred. But appeal
for some remedy ought to be made
everywhere, by press and pulpit, and
at the bar; by the masses of the peo-
pie and by the men who do the vot-
ing. Thousands of us who think,
or who ought to think, are not quit
OF the blood of our fellowmen if we
hold our peace and do nothing in
the presence of this great and grow
ing evil.
Best way to stop lynchings.
How can We escape the appeal
that we ought to strike squarely at
these evils and find some remedy. or
what mitigation may be possible by
amendments in procedure so as to
way to stop lynchings is to stop the
crimes that provoke the lynchings.
Lynchings are great evil and al
ways wrong, usually worse and more
harmful than the crime which pro-
wicked them Whoever is unwilling
for the whole state to become a mob
ought to be unwilling to encourage
and share in mob violence But. a.
/ said long ago, in a public address, |
fynchings can never be completely |
stopped until the laws Of criminal |
procedure are amended SO that inno- |
cent and good people can be assured |
of getting justice in the courthouse. |
1T is a mistake when good men
concentrate all their endeavors |
against lynchings and shut their |
eyes to crime generally, Say that |
one hundred lynchings occur annual
iy; ten thousand homicides also oc-
cur annually in the United States. |
and surely, as a mere matter of fig !
ares, the Individual crimes are, of
the two, immensely the larger evils.
LAS our remedial procedure in |
criminal cases now stands, it is easy |
TO convict the poor and friendless
negro, and the poor and frieudleSs
white man, who has no money or in
'luence to employ counsel or canvass
he jury lists.
s'But is anybody ever hanged who
,as money-lots of it-with which !
q employ counsel. canvass the jury
lists and circulate petitions The
.oor and friendless are sometimes
xecuted, but the rich and powerful
lever, or almost never. Can such