The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923, February 28, 1913, Page 11, Image 13

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The Commoner.
11
FEBRUARY 2g, 1915
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by teaching all by precept and ex
ample as -well as by command that
the taking of human life is wrong
and is not oven a punishment and
then lock up for life all who commit
such murders.
The advocates of capital punish
ment, driving the question home in
concrete form ask what position
would you take if your wife or child
were brutally murdered and the mur
derer convicted and sentenced to
death? Under such circumstances
we would all act like any man with
an unbalanced mind, losing eight of
society which would bo obscured by
self. An appeal for a decision in
favor of capital punishment in this
hypothetical way to a man grieved
and shocked by such a crime is ex
ceedingly unfair. It Is an appeal to
minds in the same abnormal condi
tion as that of second degree mur
derers who kill in the heat of pas
sion and who are punished in milder
form on account of the deficient
reasoning powers in them at -such
times. However, all the arguments
that are presented in the case of
Rfrnnirnrfl InRn nnnn nf tholT fnroA
when applied to relatives excepting'
only as the mind of the injured is
incapable of considering justico on
account of prejudice. It Is indeed a
weak defense which must be sup
ported by the logic of unbalanced
minds poisoned by anger and pre
judiced by grief in such persons who
do not stop to consider society be
ing made up of others besides them
selves and who never think that ex
ecutions may cause other innocent
families to suffer as they are suffer
ing. The execution of the criminal
would not give back the life of his
victim, therefore in no manner be
comes compensation.
When we are reminded of the ter
rible wrongs of murder we may meet
the demand for vengeance with the
often repeated declaration that a
second wrong will not make the first
one right. The relatives of a victim
should not be permitted to demand
the death penalty at such expense
to society as may cause other fami
lies to suffer from murders 'that
may be incited by such an act of the
state combined with the anger en
gendered by future transactions.
Bringing the question not only
homo but right down to a personal
basis I am made to "wonder f such
a step would incite a man having de
signs upon my life to feel more in
clined to execute his purpose or
would he spare my life if his atten
tion were directed to the true philos
ophy of lifo and death? I have no
hesitancy in saying that I would feel
safer to have him read these hasty
reflections against death than nurse
his revenge and take chances on de
tection and on the result of a trial,
conviction and death sentence. In
like manner you may reach the same
conclusion and -declare that im
prisonment instead of the death sen
tence is beneficial instead of detri
mental to society.
May I not have it understood that
I am not recommending this step as
a result of morbid sentiment for this
criminal or any criminal. I am not
taking this position out' of considera
tion of his welfare. I care not
whether ho is black or white, rich or
poor, or whether his past record is
bad or good. All that I have said or
will say is in behalf of the other
people of society now living and yet
to be born. I believe much good
will result from this position some
time in the future, no matter what
final action may be taken in this
case. But there is more to be said
of the inherent revolution against
such taking of human life.
Whenever we see men with stealthy
movements, secretive in nature or
dissembling and shifting responsi
bilities we become suspicious of their
honesty. When governments com
mence covering up and hiding their
acts or punishments it Indicates they
have become ashamed of them.
When they commence spreading out
responsibility; a part on the Jury and
a part on the judge and then the rest
on the sheriff, who even delegates by
some chance arrangement to some
unknown member of several deputies
the last act of a state's disgrace, it
is time wo ask ourselves is ft right? j
Wo find an answer In every normal
heart which shivers with revolt from
personal responsibility for the act?
This is God'n answer and decree (
against capital punishment, which
will, which must, which does assert
itself.
The legislature has expressed a
doubt and opened the question In
this stato to philosophy so that
juries may fix the death penalty or
not and in rovlowlng their verdict In
court or considering the samo be
fore the executive the question of
resisting tho death penalty has be
como lawful as well as logical. It
is no longer arbitrarily demanded as
a matter of law, but It is a question
of human judgment in each par
ticular caso of what Is right life
sentence or death.
If tho law arbitrarily demanded
capital punishment no officer taking
an oath to support the laws could
shirk his duty. But as our laws now
exist modified by modern acts every
stop from tho Jury to the governor
Is subject to tho proper solution of
this question submitted by the legis
lature as a matter of doubt, except
ing tho preservative of lifo for any
(Continued on Pago 12.)
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