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1 H. L. Wilgus, Capital Punishment 1 (1931)

handle is hein.death/cpush0001 and id is 1 raw text is: CAPITAL PUNIZITIUT oWe are to vote, April C, whether in Michigan hereafter murder in the first degree shall be punishod by death by clectro- cution or not. Firot degree enrder is defined, as hretoLo, as the wilful, deliberate and romoditated killing or killing in committing or attempting to cosit arcon, rape, robbcry, or burglaryn, but there is added or kidaping for ransoa or in escaping or attempting to eacape from any penal institution of this state or while being tranoported to or froma such institu- tion, and shall be punished by death. If a person convicted of such was under seventeen years of age-when he cormitted, the act, he shall not be sentenced to death, but iprisoncd in the State's prison at hard labor for the remainder of his life. In all cases of conviction the complete record of all proceedings, evidenco and charges of the court shall be submittod to the Supreme Court for review upon the law and facts, and it shall naSfirm the conviotion or reverse the conviction end grant a new trial.,, Funishment by death chall be inflicted by elec- trocution within the vialls of' the Michigan State Prison at Jack- son by the warden or some person doputized by him. Heretofore the punishnent for first degree murder has been aolitary con- finement at hard labor in the State prison for life. In case of final conviction this malkes the death penalty absolute; there is no alternative, no discretion in judge, jury, or Supreme Court. Only the Governor can reprieve or pardon,- or a jury ignore testimony and instructions and render a verdict for sccond degree nurder or manslaughter, and thereafter the death penalty could not be imposed, for a conviction of one is an acquittal of the other. These proposale completely reverse the policy adopted in this state eighty-five years ajo, In 1048, when capital punichnen was abolished. Shall we do this? The question is complicated and confused. Som ar-,e - that life for life' is a divine ordinance; others thou zal-t not kill applico to the state as well as individual; the c:e- outed murderer kills no more;n a mistaken execution it irepar- able;O Uwe kill the mad dog, why not the -urdorer who is as ,reat a nenacc; all crimao is a diseace to be cured, not puni3hcd; .hen the state abolishes the death penalty, it authorizoo ar- der; the allowe does not provent curder; when to ~allows i taken dom, murdercrs leap for joy; execution mcos a hero of martyr; evil men fear death more than anything else; the evil minded fear not the penalties of the law;0 as the death penalty is relazod, the red crime incrasces proportionatcly; the predatory murderer gambles with life, and considers all life or death'only a gablo;g the death penalty costs littlc; it lowere the appreciation of life generally; it rids society of the vicious; it concentrates attention on the evil done inctead of the causes;n it -abolition leads to lynchin-;O it is the pri mary cause of delay, technicalities, ad corruption in courts and3 officials; the safety of the people is the suproaee law; ref'oz mation not revenge is the cure; a vote for, if adopted nakes one a party to all future ezecutions; a vote agjainst, if not adopted, makes one a sharer in all future murders its adoption would prevent; nevery ri.':ht minded person shrinks from the in- fliction of the death penalty. such are the arguments one hsar= with an element of truth in most of them, but they are too ab- stract or too general to be of much cervice.

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