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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1913)
I WfH-f ' It 6 x M?- it ! God. Docb society liiko a young prisoner, liand cuffcd nnd guarded from a modern penitentiary of content, Htono and armor plato tako him out uport tlio gallows and hang him until ho is dead for Bclf-dofonso? To kill a man over-powered and hnrmloBB 1b not an act of Bolf-defenso for olthor a citizen or a utato, but 1b an act of un restrained power directed by revenge rather than rcaBon. What man would be permitted to kill his neighbor boeauHo bin neighbor was excitable, high tempered and In tho habit of getting drunk, on tho theory that his neighbor might kill some body and posBlbly tho accused? Such conduct 1b not Belt dcfciiBP, but a mero problematical subterfuge. Jb it logical to vole to death a prisoner on Bueh a theory of national self de fonso wlion tho guilty ono can bn kept secure? Tho protended oxcubo that a man might gain his freedom and kill somo ono, a mero specula tion, 1b not a solf-dofenao justification. It would ..not bo extending this peculiar logic to eugago " phronologiats to go out in search of children with destructive tondencloB and put them to doath on tho onino theory of self defonso or to hang all drunkards. Tho slate is not obliged, in faot, to kill for solf defense tho atato is too groat and powerful to bo compelled to resort to killing for such an excuse In a timo of peaco and (litlot uuch as wo are now enjoying. I can concolvo of a case, possibly several whoro capital punishment by the state for self dofoiiBO io necessary and may bo inflicted. A bold political criminal; ono who murders to win; who has tho following of a Napoleon; who has tho criminal heart of a Borgia; who, when convicted of a murder would bo liberated by hiB criminal adherents; and who, when liberated would go on poisoning and killing others. De ploring capital punishmont as wo must, yet as a principle of self defense wo may be obliged to tolerate and use it in such a case if it over arises. On tho same principle as individuals we be llovo In killing if it Is necessary to prevent be ing killed. What individual would hesitate to shoot if a burglar was crawling in his bed room window with a pistol in oach hand and a knife in his tooth? This illustration is mentioned as an oxccptlon under tho rule of self preserva tion. A few years ago I copied from tho paper a moro headline for commont in this connection: "Ono Ilundrod Soventy-six People Attempt Sulcido In Omaha During Past Year. Of these thirty-threo succeeded whilo 1-12 wore saved and very glad of it." Ono hundred forty-two saved and "glad of it!" If wo should have hung these 142 roscuod or ignominously cursed and tarred and feathered and burned them in oil, for cx amplo, would that havo kept others from at tempting sulcido? No, when they attompt it thoy expect to succeed and would adopt surer methods. Such punishmont of suicides involv ing painful death would suggest and ropeat sug gestions of destruction and increase suicide from now recruits rendered morbid by disappointment or griof. If moh kill thomsolves under press ing distress which sprouts a germ thought of sulcido for escape, why would not a greater number bo drlvon to kill others from similar development of murder and oxocution talk? This weakness of mind- this homicidal mania would bo stimulated by tho thoughts of mur der in othors. If attomptod suicides were punished with painful and prolonged death out of 176 attempts, it would havo been chronicled nearer a hundred instead of 33 that succeeded Lynchings aro fair illustrations of where public executions cause moro murders by ex ample. In countries whoro men aro hanged by tho state, hanging is the usual method of tho lynchers; thoy follow example. Where behead ing is tho penalty tho stillotto and knifo is the weapon of tho mob. Whoro shooting is the penalty tho mob usually is content with tho bullet. No ono will deny that executions cause lynchings and moro murders by mero succos tlons. This principle is recognized in a mild way in every household whoro parents instinc tively (rogardloss of the Ladies Homo Journnn know better than even talk of evil to their ch 11 dren because tho suggestion on a subject of evil causes deeper thoughts on tho convocation ami thoughts so fertilized develop actions in them What is true in most children is bound to effect some grown people tho same as children. Men are lynched by mobs because states have hoie-t-fore boen teaching that in certain cases mon ought to be killed. Tho mob thinks it has In its midst ono of tho most aggravated cases for" such a penalty. They aro not taught to hi shocked at taking human life but rather to de mand ono occasonally for the good of the coin- The Commoner. try. Tho pooplo havo not fully outgrown tho witch hanging days of a few years ago. Lord Wldon expressed himsolf in tho nineteenth cen tury with fear of disaster If England repealed tho death penalty for stealing flvo shillings. Executions unquestionably have a tendency to brutalize tho minds of men and cause them to put a price upon human life and feel a license to tako it away. If tho state hires mon to slaughter human prisoners furnished by juries left to inherited prejudices, what may wo expect of citizens of such a government? When men aro burning and bursting with passion or rage; when nothing but a life, in a country of cheap estimation of life, stands in tho way of success, mon think of killing because killing is mado bo natural to think of. Picture after pic ture of vivid executions aro impressed upon tho mind to suggest themselves at every supposed emergency, by this great composite hypnotic oporator public opinion. It is thoreforo natural for these germ thoughts planted by tho stato's suggestion to burst out and overshadow other thoughts until a citizen takes a life for a capital or towering, monumental offense against himself, a private citizen as ho has seen his government do with its offenders. An execu tion is not only of no value to prevent others from killing, but on the other hand experience shows it has the opposite effect. If an execu tion is ordered to deter others, tho public should know of it not by reading but by seeing it as thoy did in olden times. But tho awful effect upon tho people has boen so marked that nearly every state in tho union has compelled execu tions to bo in private ultra private enclosures. In this state, as well as many others, executions aro removed from the county of the crime to the penitentiary in an enclosure and in the presence of only half a dozen legal witnesses. We may perhaps seriously consider tho fact of numerous penitentiary murders being in fluenced to somo extent by the shocking- sug gestion of concentrated executions of the state in this institution. This removal of executions to the penitentiary to avoid the evil influence upon the general public is a terrible blow to old Henry VIII and his death carts; this is the death knell to the sentiment of such scenes commemorated in tho masterpieces of art as beautiful women riding through the jeering crowds to tho headman's block. This conduct of the various states proves to every reasonable man that the state of Ne braska and many of her sister states have con cluded that tho example of public executions, that is the killing of people to deter others from killing, does not have the effect it was once thought to have had. It proves that tho example of public execution is bad for society instead of good. If it is bad to see, it is not good to read of. It therefore follows that the real benefit to society is not to either see or read of an execution, and consequently, if pos sible, not havo one. This condition would pre vent its publication over the civilized world with all its damaging details. In the state of Michi gan, where tho death penalty is absolutely re pealed, I havo read that murders committed In numbers aro far below the murders of the states which have the arbitrary penalty of death. It may be that tho state having ceased to play such a P?rt, at suggestion of death has made this marked difference yet tho details of executions recognizing no restraint in the boundary lino of that state and creeping in from other states exerts much damaging influence. On the question of suggestion as applicable to kings and rulers the old sultan of Turkey was somewhat sagacious. He censors the press so that no report is ever published in Turkey of the killing of a ruler. President McKnfeys death was published there as resulting from in- ufkimn, X ,.,B benefidal t0 suppefs news l tn til gm iDSS n account of suction it Is in the same measure vastly moro beneficial to prevent the killing of citizens by their govern ments for tho same reasons. govern- The other day I clipped from the papers the following dispatch which is also in point: "Paris, July 13. The prefect of police in Franco has forbidden the moving picture exhibi tion of the exploits of the bandit Bonnot and his band, on the ground that it would stimulate mitators." Comments of this kind are Con tinually being published. For thousands of years executions have been tried and have failed in restraining crime Criminals have been hung upon the gibbet and in iron cages until their bodies havf shr iVoled pr fallen to pieces or were devoured byTarrton b ?dB ad the ?,Ublic waa welcomed, yea in vited and compelled to witness such exertions - VOLUME 13, NUMBER g and public spectacles to inspire them with awe and fear, and frighten them into becoming "law abiding citizens." But the purpose failed, utter ly failed, because these examples excited the people and impressed deeds of destruction in the minds of the individual, when jealousy, passion, disease and drunkenness always awaken these thoughts of tho nation's example of public punishment which they adopt upon impulse as private punishment. Henry VIII put to death. 72,000 people dur ing his- reign of twenty years, but each year crime increased. People "were hung for being witches, beggars, and vagabonds; for stealing sheep, game or ubTi and for stealing as low as 35 cents in money; for quitting the king's ser vice; for discussing how long the queen would live; for trying to convert men to the Roman Catholic religion and for about a hundred other offenses. Some of the mild forms of punishment gradu ated up to a resulting death were as follows: Plucking out eyes, cutting off the nose or lips, boiling and burning for heresy. China's most terrible slow death was ten years' imprisonment without salt. There was the rack, skinning alive, quartering and disemboweling also the hitching of horses to the four extremeties and tearing men apart. If we had such punish ments now murderers would follow the example of tho state and mutilate their victims as did the bandits of old. However, at the present time the plain, simple killing of the state satisfies the modern murderous citizen. Have not these dreadful punishments had their influence in private crime and was it not time for the legislature to open the question of the death penalty to juries and their reviewing bodies? Is it not a terrible truth, that human life has been one of -the lightest baubles with which governments and subjects havo ever played? And yet these horrible penalties havo failed in the purpose for which they wero in tended. Possibly whil they serve to horrify some who never contemplate murder the sug gestion of death remind and set in motion pri vate motives of revenge in others which causes more murders than were ever prevented. In the light of the past will it help the state or nation to hang this fellow? Will it be another example of the little consequence of a human life? Will it continue to teach the false doctrine that death is a punishment and lead men in frenzies of anger to think of killing to get even? The hanging of one man will never stop an other who. kills in the heat of passion because he does not take time to think of the gallows. He is a victim of years of suggestion plus the inherited memory or tendency from the same influences. What is responsible for so many murders in the heat of passion? These wild passions resulting in spasmodic murder are the harvests of wars, desires for abortions and capi tal punishment. Some impulses- are planted by state sanctioned deaths from the earliest under standing of children and are watered and warmed in public schools, on the public streets, in business places, and in the sanctity of homes. et?eri ' a,n i suggeson on the part of the state has its influences in every murder and the more the state hangs and the nation wars the moie the people will think of human destruc tion and the more murders we will have. kvery year the dead letter office receives nearly the same number of misdirected letters. JL Varie percePtlljly- Why do we have to same number of absent-minded moments in tne lives of men and women who write letters? tRrr2tikmi7r: neitner d0 we know w1 rn5S?J2,alS0,theI8.alU0 curring number of S?nmv ? and S"ici(lal inPUlses in a given mi2ISin 0UIS0CleAtv- " may appear that this of them by the state ls sponsible for many lioSnnPeS a?iU?ed 0f this gyration some fhJ ?7X2L U d, hf made for tne influence of 5?S a?fla,CCUSed ! lould be made f01' heredity, Sfl 555 influencethe desire of the mother for faml v11?!1? f hGr Unborn son As surely to B in fca Ures ?re transmitted from father halVlt0 T6 tuoughts, ideas and practices beer ? ?hrmS t0 80nB, by anstors who have lilce storTfn T ,?a uave chered men ihirtvft i slaughtering pens. We should svmntor cira.Gter of a murderer as we do the symptoms of diseases; as we do fevers in our said ttlVSJL inSanU in 0U1' 2 It is Sb thoMfnr t JaT r Crime as wel1 funded SSsa blU nn5eiWd alld UdeS' llglU and dark- Lot ub atodv . th' Q6S SUicide and accident. lBhmS.tynS? man llilG ne is given civilized punishment and not follow a false doctrine and (Continued on Page 10.) TbBIBBIIB) BBB H I