Ogden Daily Standard | 1917-01-17 | Page 4 | Capital Punishment in Utah

oo CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN UTAH "Editor Standard The commit lee on capital punishment wishes to ascertain as-certain the editorial policy of the leading newspapers of this country in regard to capital punishment. "A statement of the editorial policy of your paper in regard to this public question will be appreciated. "The committee on capital punishment punish-ment of the national committee on prisons is leading a nation wide movement move-ment for the abolition of the death penalty. The chairman of the committee commit-tee Is George Foster Peabody, the vice chairmen are Jane Addam6, Jacob H. Schiff, Rt. Rev. Wilson R. Steady. The members of the executive council coun-cil are Adolph Lewisohn, Charles H. Ingersoll, Huntington W. Merchant, Leo L. Redding and Dr. B. Stagg Whitm. i (Signed.) "Very truly yours, "H. L. BALDBNSPERGER." For a number of year6, the Standard has been advocating the doing away with capital punishment in I'tab. The putting to death of a murderer is not a preventive of murder, and official executions too often brutalize ihose who are required to take human life. Capital punishment Is a relic of the day6 when the race was merging from barbarism, and rulers disposed of objectionable subjects by ordering them put to death. Seven states today have statutes forbidding capital punishment. They are Kansas, Maine, Michigan. Oregon, Rhode Island, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Wiscon-sin. In those states murders are not greater in number than in states of equal population having capital punishment. pun-ishment. Mrs. Emma Montgomery, 2447 Grant avenue, Ogden, who has been a prison pris-on worker for ten years, has framed a bill to be presented to the t'tah legislature, leg-islature, abrogating capital punishment. punish-ment. If the measure fails to pass, a bill will be drawn giving to juries the right to prescribe life imprisonment imprison-ment as part of a verdict in first degree de-gree murder cases. nn