Year: 1859

A petition is being very generally circh-
lated, asking for the enactment of law by
the next Legislature making highway rob
berry capital ofense An attempt to have
such law passed was made last winter,
and failed. We hope the present effort will
meet the same fate, for we regard an extern
sion of the death penalty to any other crimes
than murder as a retrogression to the venge-
full ways of barbarous epochs, as Intellectual
to accomplish its object and as calculated
to increase the number of murders while
failing to decrease the instances of highway
robbery. At time when the most enlight-
ened and humane people are ehdeavorng to
put stop altogether to capital punishment
it would be almost disgraceful for California
to extend its application. If our State
prison was what it should be, we should
advocate an entire adjustment of the death
penalty and the substitution of imprison-
ment for life; and we believe that much more
towards the prevention Of crime could be
accomplished by petitioniug the Legislature
to build new peni,entary, in which con-
victs could be securely confined, than by
urging return to the usages of antiquity.


The petition alluded to doubtless origin
ated with the expressmen, who have suffered
more frequently and heavily from highway
robbers than any other class, and are more
exposed TO their depredations. 1t is natural
that they should desire the adoption of some
measure likely to make them more secure,
and they think the gallows the very mea-
sure. There can be no sufficient proof ad-
duced that it is. 1t cannot be shown that
homicide has been rendered of less frequent
occurrence by the death penalty. Every
days newspapers refute the idea that hang
ing prevents murder; while the example of
other States conclusively proves that the
crime is not stimulated by the substitution
of less revolving penalty England, and
every other country, has sought to prevent
all grades # stealing by death. A morning
walk by old Tyburns gates, fifty or hun





more of pale, blood-sprnkled heads, trans
fixed on pixies, or the "human form divine
dangling rigidly from gbbet The ma
jorfty of crimes were punished with death,
and wretches seemed actually to crowd to
the sacrifice. Gradually the loss of blood
was restricted in its application to murder,
u iul,v nd ho,. A.
TO murder alone; and a Secfease Of crime
steadily followed, not preceded the growing
humanity of punishment. 1t may be lac
down as an axiom that the decrease of crime
is in inverse proportion 10 the cruelty of its
penalty. A law that takes blood will not
create a stronger aversion to private mur-
der, while it often prevents its own eSecu-
ton. The public sentiment is now so much
more humane than formerly that it is hard
to get from a jury verdict Of guilty when
a sentence to death nitst follow it. Make
highway robbery a capital crime in this
State and you woold not only force hieves
to be murderers but make it harder to con-
large number will sign the petition in eues-
ton, nor that the Legislature will grant it.
The latter body will have done their duty
if they authorise the construction ola branch
State prison at convenient and favorable
point, and free from the management of
contractors. The certainty Of punishment
and not its severity is what we must look to
for the prevention of crime.