New Britain herald., 1929-12-20
SINGLE MURDERER
 IN lO6 EXECUTED
Statistics Gathered in Chicago
 Show Killers Are Safe
(By Bruce Catton)

INlCagO. l)tC. -h,-N HtI4 Il iItdi commits murder in the city Of Chicago, there is just one chance in e that he will ever be sentenced to inc electric e and one chance in 1oG that ho will actually be exc cUtcd
 There is one chance in 30 that he will get q life term ill the peniten- tiary or in the rctormatory; but, on tho other hand. he has nearly on" chance in three of either being ac- omitted or having his case noilr pressed.
 There ar" percentages compiled from figures on Chicago crime kept by the Chicago crime commission. They shed revealing light on th" city that has been called "the crime capital of Amcrjca,"
 There are various angles from which ChcaGos crime statistics can be studied.
 The death penalty almost seems to bc imperative. Consider, for tn- stance, this face: Since the year 1S40 (whcu Chicago was no more than a hamlcD to the present day. | there have hcnn only JOS people i executed in Cook county.
 \ Murder Day
 Yet durng the last five years. i Chicago has been averaging about 1 one murder q day.
 From January ], 1924, until No vembcr i. 1929. Cock county l coroncrs' jurios returned 2lS9 yer diets of murder.
 In the same time the grand jury i voted 944 indictments, Thus less | than 50 per cent of the killers were [ even indicted, Thirty-fve persons | were sentenced 10 death; of this l number 20 actually went to the scaf- 1 fold or the electric chair.
 One hundred and eight drew life terms in prison. Three hundred and | forty-nine got lesser terms, ranging | from indeterminate reformatory sen tences and one years Imprisonment | in the penitentiary OH up. Twenty four were found insane and sent to asylums.
 tSt Acquitted Outright
 On the other hand. 4&l were aC- quilted outright. and the indictments against S9 more were nolle pressed.
 The causes of this state of affairs are not hard 10 find.
 For some time, of course. Chica- ga labored under a handicap of aI- liancc between the underworld and powerful political leaders. There has been a cleanup in that respect. to be sure. the states attorneys office and the police department now are doing their best 10 catch all crim- inals.
 Even now. however, th2 killer has all the best of it. As ono prom inent ChicaGoan remarks:
 ''ThcoreticaIly our law is designed to protect the innocent, but as a matter of practical fact it protects the guilty. A man accused of crime has so many legal safeguards thrown around him that ii is no wonder that q lawyer finds it easy to acquit guilty client, The wonder is that the state ever succeeds in getting convictions"
 The wealth of pcremptory chal- 1enges which a defense lawyer may usc when jury is being chosen. for instance, gives him a magnificent chance for prolonging the trial and excluding from the jury all persons who show signs of reasonable in- telligence.
 A defendants previous record cannot be introduced, under the law, unless he takes the witness stand, in which ca the prosecutor may bring it out in cross examination. A defendant shrewd enough not to take the witness stand may. conse- quently. have q criminal record long enough 10 paper the walls of the court room, but the jury will never know it.
 In addition, court procedure al lows defense attorneys 10 postpone trials nd sentences almost in- definitely; and. nee man is con- Nicted and sentenced. the taking of appeals can delay the carrying out Of his sent srA for year, in many instances. O. even longer. 1f at the end Of that time, he wins q retrial. the states witnesses have often died or moved away.
 Paroles Cut Punishment
 Of the JOS killers who have been sentenced 10 life Imprisonment since the beginning of 1924, great many will enjoy years of freedom before they go to their graves. The words life imprisonment. do not moan what they say in all cases. The parole law and the pardonng power are responsible "I.ifo Imprisonment" often means anything but that.
 Perhaps the situation could he summed up like this:
 ri you kill q man in Chicago you probably won't he indicted at oll IfI you are indicted, you have one chance in three Of being acquitted II yoli are convicted. your chance of going 10 the electric chair IS in- tinitesimal Your chance Of getting life Imprisonment is not much greatcr-and if you do get life, yon probably won't sorv" all of your term.