THE DEATH PENALTY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5355, 23 November 1928, Page 3

THE DEATH PENALTY.

ARGUMENTS FOR ABOLITION.

An earnest appeal fop an examination of the necessity tit the death penalty was madq recently by Sir Herbert

Samuel, who, as Home Secretary in 1916, and High Commissioner for .. Palestine from 1920. to 1?25, was him- ■. self called upon to make the final decision in mjatny cases involving, “the most painful duty that men can ever hq called upcp to perform.” After examining several aspects of «£he question, he said“ The only point that demands serious consideration is this: is it, or is it hot, the fact that ' the existence of capital punishmqpt prevents murders ? Is it, or is it not, prcpable that if that penalty were M polished, murders would increase ? pon the answer to that question ; most men and women will be inclined, I think, to let their attitude depend. Now, here we arq not'left in the ■ realm of conjecture. We have the ex- ; perience of several other countries as a guide. Thq three Scandinavian countries and Belgium and Holland < abolished capital punishment long ago. So have five other States in . Europe and! nine in Central and : fiquthern America. Of the United States of America ejight have followed u. the' same course. The experience of these countries ‘is that there has f been no tendency for, the abolition - of the death penalty to, be followed ■ by an increase in murderous crime; tin several cases there has beep a jWarked decrease. It would hot be Wecessary in the first instance to abolish the death penalty fcy law. The - House of Commons might pass a resolution desiring the Home Secretary to reprieve in all cases of death sen- . fences. (About one-half are reprieved already.) It could then, be seen, over a pepicgl of years, whether, in fact any unsatisfactory results followed. If they did, the resolution could be repealed and the present practice restored'. If they did not, the; further step could be taken and the penalty* abolished by law?’