The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-05-05
JUSTICE SWIFT
in new JERSEY
Trials Of Bandits and Major
Criminals flushed on the Day
of Arrest.
IS FOUNDED ON CAlvAMsM
Wheels Of Court Move Quickly
Famed Not Only for Accuracy and
Relentlessness, but for Fair
ness and Efficiency.

ness and Efficiency.
Trenton, N. Undressing light hal
been thrown on the operation ant
speed "Of Jersey justice" as result
Of recent convictions for murder ant
other crimes. While n1isdemeanor'
and felonies have increased in New
Jersey, as elsewhere in the country u
the last year or SO, state records show
that there have been few disagree
ments of juries, and prison sentences
have been extended to maximum lin
it's in order to discourage violations o.
the law.
One feature of New Jersey law thai
few, if any, Of the other states have
and which is said to have been I;
prime factor in giving the state its tis'
ditional reputation for lightningliM
court procedure, Is a provision that a
jury in first degree murder trial ma,
designate life Imprisonment instead o.
the death penalty for the convicted
person. This has resulted In man!
quick convictions for life imprison-
ment where, otherwise, there might
have been jury disagreements.
Quick Bandit Trials.
Cases like that of the Union county
bandits, Charles and John Krebs and
Martin Shannon, who were sentenced
to serve from Sc to Is years each. and
who were tried, convicted and We're
beginning to serve their sentences
within 148 hours of their capture, are
occurring daily in New Jersey, the
present so-called "crime wave" appar-
emily furnishing an excellent test for
the efficiency of its courts.
Jersey justice" famed from Maine
to Florida, from the Atlantic to the Pa
cific, and even overseas, not only be-
cause Of its speed, its accuracy and Its
relentlessness, but also because of its
fairness and efficiency, was not estab-
lished overnight. 1t is scarcely a tan
gible thing. 1t may be best described
as "a state of mind" the people de-
handing that their law officers be eff
Gent above everything else. Thus
prosecutors, grand juries, judges, petit
juries and all other branches of the adj
ministration Of justice, which lead the
criminal to prison and the murderer TO
the death chair, are just SO many
wheels and gears and belts in an al
most perfectly working machine"
whose motive power is the people.
Tradition has had much to do with
making Jersey justice" Beginning
with the early days of the settlement
of the state, when many crimes were
punishable by death, the Calvinists
brought into east Jersey distinctive
views of religious and civil matters
which probably were the roots Of "Jer-
sey justice"
New Jersey differs in no great re-
spect from other states as to the gen.
eral legal procedure for the punish
ment of crime. Lynchings and crime
against accused persons, however, are
rare. Officers of the law, from the
highest judges down, are well paid, and
every effort is made to keep politics
out Of the courts. At present there
are more than three-score life pris-
oners in the state prison here and
eight out Of every ten convicts are in
for long terms.
Safeguards for Innocent.
While Jersey justice" is swift, the
innocent are safeguarded through
system Of appeals, reprieves and stays,
the latter sometimes operating to save
convicted persons from the death
chair. The case Of Frank P. James
and Raymond w. Schuck, convicted OF
killing David s. Paul, Camden bank
messenger, is an illustration. After
their arrest the trials of the murder
ers were expedited and the same day
they were sentenced they were in the
ileathhouse here candidates" for the
chair.
In July, 1904, three young negroes,
Aaron Timbers, William Austin and
Jonas Simms, entered the home of a
farmer named Biddle, near Burlington,
bound Mrs. Biddle and attacked her.
Within a few days all three were cap
tured, tried, convicted and had begun
sentences of 40 years each in state
prison.
"Bill" Framer, Camden holdup
man, who terrOrized women, was re-
Gently captured and tried and con-
victed the next day. The evening OF
that day he was on his way to prison
to begin long term.