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Juries, Not Officials, to BlameThe many miscarriages of justice, and the number of criminals, who seem immune to punishment causes people generally to condemn the officers from the police to the judges on the bench. A careful watch over the final disposal of criminal 1 cases will show that in most casss the criminals are arrested, and indicted and even brought to trial, but are released by weak spincd and sentimental juries, who seem I unable t^ withstand the maudlin appeal of the criminal lawyers. A fair example is the thirty cases of ; women arrested and brought to 1 | trial for the murder of their husbands, and in all of Cook county:' not a single conviction, although i 1 the police, state’s attorney and all officials were diligent to bring them to proper punishment. The facts ’ are that as soon as a crime is com ’ mitted a certain class of lawyers j begin working up a defense by i ’ quibbling law points or arousing the sympathy of the public for the , criminal either through his failings or his family connections. It is a deplorable state of affairs, and the percentage of criminals actually brought to punishment is pitifully small. Unthinking people blame the , police, or the state’s attorney’s office or officials of some sort, and ; never stop to think that they can ’ not condemn and punish prisoners unless a jury finds them guilty, and | the clever criminal lawyers know just how to work some juries until they are almost willing to bring in I a verdict against the officials rather ! than the prisoner. Moral: Do notrefuse to do your duty w'hen sum- { moned as a juror, and have back bone enough to convict where the evidence warrants it.
Newspaper Details
Chicago Sullivans Englewood Times
Chicago, Illinois, US
Fri, Nov 02, 1923
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 14 Feb 2024
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