Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 101, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1918 — WARRED ON DEATH PENALTY [ARTICLE]

WARRED ON DEATH PENALTY

Sir Samuel Romilly, British Statesman, First to Bring End to Capital Punishment Statutes. The remarkable career of Sir Samuel Romilly, the British statesman, came to a tragic end 99 years ago. He was the first influential man In England to attempt to bring about the abolition of capital punishment, notes a London correspondent. When he entered public life the English statutes punished with death nearly 300 crimes, ranging from murder and treason down to keeping company with gypsies. Romilly, who was of French descent, launched an agitation against these codfes,. and in 1808 he succeeded in repealing the Elizabethan statute which made it a capital offense to steal privately from the person of another. From that time until his death he waged war unceasingly against these cruel statutes, renewing his motions session after session; and although he failed, he qteared the way for the success of others who kept up the agitation. Romilly was devoted to his wife, and when she died, October 29, 1818, the philanthropist fqjl into a delirium of grief. Four days later his grief had so preyed on his mind that he jvent mad and killed himself.