Essays on the punishment of death / [Charles Spear].

  • Charles Spear
Date:
1845
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Essays on the punishment of death / [Charles Spear]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    forbidden to attack the life of his fellow-man, and then alone will he conceive the thought of all the sanctity of the duty he has violated, all the enormity of the crime he has committed.’ 1 Let the idea of crime, horrible crime,5 says Mr. Rantoul, in his report to the Massachusetts Legislature, in February, 1836, ‘be indissolubly and universally associated with the voluntary and deliberate destruc¬ tion of life under whatever pretext. Whoever strength¬ ens this association in the public mind, does more to prevent murders than any punishment, with whatever aggravation of torture, can effect through fear. The denomination of Friends have always been educated in this idea, and among them murders are unknown. The strongest safeguard of life is its sanctity; and this sentiment every execution diminishes.5 We rejoice to find that we are not alone on this sub¬ ject. A glorious company is rising up in different por¬ tions of the civilized world, whose talents and virtues will adorn this great doctrine, and hasten its establish¬ ment throughout the habitable globe. 1 For the honor of humanity it can he said, that in every age and country, there have been found persons in whom uncorrupted nature has triumphed over cus¬ tom and law. Else why do we hear of houses being abandoned near to places of public execution ? Why do we see doors and windows shut, the days and hours of criminal executions 7 Why do we hear of aid being secretly afforded to criminals to mitigate or elude the severity of their punishments? Why is the public executioner of the law a subject of such general detesta¬ tion? These things are latent struggles of reason, or rather the secret voice of God himself, speaking in the
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