the lives of the prison officials and guards at the
prison. Mr. Maggi concurred with Doctor Butler, while Mr. Yeiser
being opposed to capital punishment favored life sentence. The governor
did not overrule the findings of the two courts and the pardon board,
and refused to interfere.
Much has been said for and against capital
punishment, and several bills were drafted to abolish it in the last
legislature. From time immemorial, criminals have been executed,
and for various offenses. This fact, however, is in my opinion no
argument in its favor. For instance, in the year of 1279 two hundred
and eighty Jews were hanged in England for clipping coin; and a few
years later the mayor of Exeter, England, and the town marshal were
hanged for leaving the town gates unfastened one night. During the
reign of Henry the VIII thirty-seven thousand criminals, both men
and women, were executed for various offenses. Among these, one woman
was put to death
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on the gallows for stealing
a shillings worth of lace. But as the world progresses the laws change, and
today only murderers forfeit their lives upon the gallows, and even these
are given every chance possible to prove their innocence. Take
for instance, this murderer Prince. It was a clear case of premeditated,
willful and uncalled for murder, yet it took fourteen months to
take his case through two courts before the pardon board and the
governor, before he paid the penalty for his crime.
In my opinion capital punishment should not be abolished in Nebraska,
for neither in this nor any other western state does a life sentence
mean life. A life termer goes, and is a good prisoner, and in from
ten to thirteen years and often much less, some kind-hearted governor
commutes his sentence. Even if a life sentence meant a life sentence
a prisoner serving life would have nothing to lose by committing
a murder in the prison, for the courts could not add any
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