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53 Prison J. 1 (1973)

handle is hein.journals/prsjrnl53 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL The Public Mood Once again, the issue of capital punishment is being debated. The public mood in just the last decade seems to have swung from abolition to restoration. Again we have seen the old arguments, pro and con, revived, usually differing only by the inclusion of later examples and sometimes a little more sophistication. It is essential that the debate be held, for we consider our- selves to be rational beings who make our decisions on the basis of good research and hard evidence. Thus this issue of The Journal is necessary. The Prison Society has been traditionally opposed to the death penalty, so we make no apologies for publishing here largely the work of authors who favor abolition. On the other hand, we must not be so naive as to believe that the side with the best arguments will win the day, because essentially we are dealing with an irrational issue. The taking of a human life, whether on the streets or by law, is too emotional a sub- ject for logic to prevail. We are reminded of the experiences of the civil rights move- ment, wherein victories and defeats were totally unrelated to the rhetoric that flowed through the churches, the legislatures, and civic auditoriums. Attitudes changed, seldom by a rational decision, but usually through an experience that was close to a religious conversion. Today Americans are afraid. Violence has become highly visible, and the public feels it must do something, no matter how irrational, to stop it. If it cannot be stopped,*at least we can repay the perpetrator. Collecting dust on many shelves are reports of presidential commissions and academic studies that show how the causes of crime and violence lie in the economic disparity, the racism and the moral hypocrisy of our society. In each study, the prescription for prevention suggests a massive social attack on these causes. But the nation has no will for that. So citizens continue to reach out blindly for more simplistic remedies that cost less in money and sacrifice. The scapegoat whose life we take in the name of justice will be in- deed the symbol of a society that refuses to confess its corporate guilt. About This Issue The lead article for this issue describes how one state, Mass- -1-

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