, 1923-01-19
Pfomptness in Punishment.

WHATEVER we may think Of the merits of CAPT
w tai punishment, the execution in England of
Mrs, Thompson and Bywaters furnishes an e1,
ample of prompt administration of Justice that
might well be emulated in this country. The muir
der was committed on October 4th, and exactly
ninety-seven days later the murderers paid tho
penalty with their lives. II the meantime they had
been given every right that the law demands. They
had been tried and found guilty by a jury: They had
taken an appeal and the appellate court had heard
the case and affirmed the judgment of the lower
court. Then they had appealed to the British
home office and finally to the king himself, all Of
which action Is permitted by the British law.
The culprits were granted every essential right
that murderers have under the American law. The
difference was that needless delays were elimi'
mated, sentence was pronounced when the verdict
was returned, and no action was permitted the
effect of which would have been only to cause
delay with no assurance that a greater degree of
Justice would be accorded the defendants. Tho
punishment followed so promptly after the crime
that the British public clearly saw the relation
between the criminal act and its penalty, and the
executions had their full effect as a deterrent tc
others who might otherwise commit murder.
There are two objects in administering punish.
ment-the reform of the criminal so that he may
be taught never to repeat the offense, and the ex,
ample to others who may be similarly inclined.
In the case of capital punishment the latter OBJ
ject is the only one, and that is lost and the pur-
pose of the law defeated, if too long a time is per-
mitted to elapse between the murder and the execu
ton of the criminal. The public mind forgets the
details of the crime, and sees only a helpless indi.
vidual put to death by nm memorable and cruel law
" ~ AZ tO max toN AAAAAAo No5Ns
are allowed to drag for months and even years, un.
til the prisoner becomes an object of profound sym.
patty instead of a detested enemy of society. On
the other hand, sometimes an Innocent man is kept
in prison for months waiting his turn before the
jury and the verdict that frees him. In the English
case there were no eyewitnesses, which, of course,
greatly handicapped the prosecution. Nevertheless,
the entire proceedings consumed only three months.
AS a contrast, there was a young man hanged in
the District Of Columbia last spring for two muir.
'ders committed about two years and three months
before, both Of them in the presence of eye wit.
nesses.
1t is such lax procedure of our courts and the
looseness of our laws that are responsible, more
than any other single cause, for the l~ynching evil so
prevalent in some states. They are also largely
responsible for the Ku.Klux-Klan and the outrages
that have apparently been committed in the name
of that organization. The radical menace and
other manifestations of open defiance of our laws
would soon subside If the penalties in the statutes
could be promptly and effectively applied. Every
citizen ought to have fixed in his mind the idea that
if he commits certain acts he must and will suffer
certain punishments. Until that impression is
firmly ingrained, the crime record will never be
reduced to a minimum.