Evening star., 1926-05-08
Homicides in the United States

In the judgment OF most OF those
situation in this country. the failure
| of law enforcement, OF prosecution
and punishment of those who com
nit capital offenseS is the CHIEF cause
of this present saturnalia. In prac
tically every jurisdiction is this fail
ure evident. Testimony to that effect
| is TO be had from reports from the
States and from the large cities.
In the April Statistical Bulletin"
issued by the Metropolitan Life In
surance Company is a discussion Of
| the shocking prevalence Of capital
crime in the United States. During
1925 no less than 1O,10O honicides
| occurred in the continental United
States. or IA times the figures which
would have prevailed if the experience
OF England and Wales had occurred
here. III Chicago, with a population
Of about 100000. there were more
than twice the number Of homicides
in one recent year than occurred in
! the whole Of England and Wales, with
q population Of nearly 40.00O,O00. Nat
urally interested in this wanton waste
OF life. the Metropolitan Company has
made an effort to discover the police
ami iudicial action following homicide
cases among its policyholders. In the
years 1922 to 1924 policyholders in
that company to the number of GIL
were slain. Inquiries that were pros
ecuted elected the following facts:
In the first place 86 of these cases
were justifable honicides, where per
sons were killed by officers of the
law while resisting arrest or while in
the act OF committing crime. This left
525 assailantS answerable to the law
for taking human life. II developed
that 54 aSsailantS committed suicide
and IS died before arraignnent. OF
the remaining 45S assailants "a, or
1873 per cent, had not been appre-
hended within one year after the
crime had been committed. The 374
cases actually apprehended show an
interesting after-history at the hands
OF the law. There were released by
magistrates or grand juries 10S per
sons, against whom no case could be
made, and were declared insane.
There were actually brought to trial
25S cases. or 56.3 per cent, out OF an
original group of 458 living assallants.
In So cases the defendants were ac-
quilted, and 8 cases were still pend.
ing one year after the commission OF
the crime. The verdict Of guilty"
was rendered in 1877 cases. OF which
40 were sentenced to prison for
80 tive OF
sentenced to death (seven executed
and / case on appeal and were re-
leased, either on suspended sentence
or being fined.
Thus it appears that out of 525
only went to the gallows. Those
who were executed, those who killed
themselves and those who died before
arraignment totaled "A. But S4 were
never caught. Only little more than
half of the murderers were ever
brought to trial, and a quarter Of
these were acquitted.
Failures of the police and failures
of the courts together allowed the
majority Of slayers of these 525 per-
sons to escape any form of punish
ment What wonder that life is held
lightly III this country. What wonder
that professional criminals are so
bold and ruthless
The other day q man who undertook
to hold up a bank in Massachusetts
was wounded in the melee which fol-
lowed his entry and on his way to the
hospital he kept murmuring: This is
the first time in five years that I
haven't killed my man" For five
years. if he is truthful, he has been
shooting and Staying as he has preyed
upon society. The chances favored
him. He had better than an even
break. If he had been lucky enough
to. get away from his latest robbery
after killing another he would still
have had, according to the Metropoli-
tan Life Company figures, a better
than even chance to escape punish
ment. if indeed he had been cap
tured.
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