El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-09-25

DEV. P. R KNICKERB0CKER touched a spot when
N he preached last Sunday night as Murder Crime
FL Paso?p With full Knickerbocker vgor and perhaps
with little extravaganza he expressed his opinion Of
FL Paso ures that consider the cases Of killers and either
turn them loose give them sentences that seem rdieu-
lousy inadequate
The thought he had in mind right IF a murderer
found guilty by jury in this town and the death
sentence Tecommendedif he American murderer,
thar is-it would sensation. FL Paso Jures do
sensations that way Why is it? The jurors
mostly to be Of very decent sort and Of aver
age intelligence. While many professionals" do
Jues here MI K1lckerbocer is not right IN giving the
impression that cheap ignorant professional Jurors the
rule One Of two things is Either the Jurors allow
themselves be carried off their feet by Oratory
else they look careessly the taking life
and if the latter typical Of e. Paso the jues
typical of FL Paso citizenship it is disgrace to the city
And lawyers BY their ceverness in defending murderers
hefudde ues until they lose sight OF the facts, those
LAWYERS are disgrace to their profession because they
shelter the criminal and procure mscarages Of justice
Everybody who has lived here a few years can recall
enough MURDERS cold booded murders OF Others that might
be called whisky murders with trials resulting acquit
tails imposition Of sentences ranging from five 20
years Some Of the latter still unfinished If
appealed and postponed and reversed and remsnded and
retired long enough they viii probably end in the defend
ants going practically UNPUBLISHED because Of the death
disappearance Of witnesses and the natural lack of interest
IN old Of years standing Mr.. Knickerbocker exsg
geTated5 very much we Think IN saying that If he were
stabbed to death today his murderer would be acquitted
next week We believe that for arocious murder like
that slayer might get hve-year suspended sentence
would start the machine of techncatie to work, with the
object Of getting him off scot-free
Even II Mr.. Knickerboczer murdered while asleep
his bed i would be alleged by the defence Of course
that the defendant attacked only after Mr. Knicksrbocker
reached toward his hip pocket whereupon the defendant
believed he in danger Of being killed and that he there
fore acted IN self defence. If old legal gag
threadbare in court, It is that Of reaching
ward the hip pocket" It has figured many Of
murder trials in such fmsy, obvious and ridiculous ways
as to constitute an insult to the intelligence Of judge and
Jury.
All this encourages murder It encourages the unthnE
ing hot headed perhaps ignorant person who has not
de1ed vet He reads the and decides that nan
get away" with anything here except grave crimes
ike smuggling the theft Of dollar watch. Sooner OF
later he gets into fight grudge and commits
murder Then his lawyers and the jury proceed to prove
he was quite right in his original deduction.
This condition is intolerabe and must be remeded It
Is giving FL Paso d bad name FL Pasoans well recall
what impression Just made in Washington and
they have fairly approximate idea Of what it has cost
Fl Paso IN the years since then in esteem and otherwise
# that al, It would be bad enough Un-
fortunately there have been others multiply the bad
impressions abroad
We can't stand that It is unfair to El PasO. This