The Little River news., 1921-05-18
GOVERNOR STANDING
 PAT ON PARDONS
Been in Office Four Months and Not a Man Has Been PardOned by
 Him.

Little Rock, May 17.-(SpeciaD - Governor McRae is making good his promises when he became governor that he would not interfere with the orderly procedure of the courts by the indiscriminate granting Of pardons. He has now been in office four months and has not yet granted a pardon, al- though there have been many appli- cations filed
 ''I want to be distinctly understood D said Governor McRae, "as standing by the verdicts of the juries and the judg- ments of the courts. I am not going to assume that they have not done their duty, by appointing commissions or boards to investigate their findings or by instituting inquiries of my own for the purpose of revising or overturning convictions. 1 do not want to lose the confidence in the judiciary of my state. I do not consider it the prerogative of the governor to act as general court of review or as appellate court be- fore whom the actions of the courts shall be considered.
 'I do not say that will never grant pardon, for conditions are conveiv- able where executive clemency would be right and proper, but do say that shall never grant pardons indiscrimi- nately and by the wholesale, and the case must be one of extreme merit wherein the ends of justice require clemency, to justify my interference with the judgment of the courts. Jus tice should be temptered with mercy but in being merciful toward criminals we must not forget our duty toward the law abiding element of society Those who uphold the law must have justice also, and justice to them 1n- cludes their protection against the violators of law through the proper | punishment of criminals.
 "The severity of punishment is not so potent in restraining lawlessness as the certainty of punishment. The imposing of too heavy sentences often defeats the very end for which they were imposed, by providing a strong argument for pardon by the governor Just sentences, however, remove this argument and strengthen the hands of the law.
 'The governor through misuse of the pardoning power, may subvert the verdict of the courts in criminal cases and make the proper punishment o1 crime most uncertain. Since certainly l of punishment is absolutely necessary 1 to the proper enforcement of the laws
 and establishment of proper respect for and fears of the majesty of the l law, the peace officers, the courts and
 the governor should perform the dut. | is incumbent upon them honestly, i'm
 partially and fearlessly.
 "The people of the state however
 have a considerable part m this i'm
 portant work and a responsibility | W HUH IlltS lluSl lCCOSIlLC uCy tot
 must uphold the officers and the
 courts. They should not sign petition.
 for pardons simply because it is easier
 to sign than to refuse. It has beer
 said that people will sign petitions fol
 anything. This seems to be true
 when we consider the vast number O.
 petitions that are filed with the chic
 executive in an effort to set aside tht
 verdicts of the courts.
 "Our people should teach theil
 children respect for the law. A return
 to the study home discipline of oul
 fathers would be an investment sur,
 to produce priceless returns. We mus
 have progress in Arkansas, but thi:
 cannot be attained by nullifying tht
 work of the judiciary"
 |