Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 81, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 January 1915 — Would Abolish Death Penalty. [ARTICLE]

Would Abolish Death Penalty.

Senator Chester A. McCormick’s bill to abolish capital punishment in Indiana, which has been recommended fOr passage by the judiciary committee of the senate, is along the lines of modern humanitarian methods in dealing With crime. The theory under which the death penalty has been imposed has been that it is a arid not that society is seeking revenge. Experience in several states that have substituted life imprisonment for the death penalty shows that executions do not lessen crime,. . < ' Wisconsin, for example, has not inflicted death in recent years. It has made what may be considered a thorough tryout of the abolition theory and the results have been most satisfactory. Milwaukee, the largest city in that state, ranks well up toward the top among cities of its class in comparative freedom from crimes of violence. Minnesota and some other states that have followed the trend of up-to-date penology have also experienced no increase in the number of homicides. I '. . A distinct advantage is gained in an increase in the number of convictions in cases of those accused of murder under life imprisonment requirements. Juries are very chary about imposing the extreme penalty even when there is no room to doubt the guilt of the accused. The result is acquittal in many cases where society is menaced by turning loose those who should not be at large. - The execution of a murderer does not make reparation for a deed done, but his acquittal may mean a repetition of crime. Our laws should be so framed as to offer the, maximum of protection to society.—lndianapolis Star.