"Death Penalty for Crime."
File Name
Q24978
Item Title
"Death Penalty for Crime. "
Description
Thomas Walker Wallace wrote this piece for his column "Here and There" which was published in the Birmingham Reporter , an African American newspaper . In it he argues against the death penalty . While he concedes that "It seems reasonable that when one man takes the life of his fellowman [sic] he should be deprived of his life " he believes that murder is the only crime that deserves this "revenge. " He is especially opposed to capital punishnment in rape cases : "Now , rapists are sentenced to death even upon the unsupported testimony of a woman and in interracial cases the woman may not be of any moral character worthwhile . It is decidedly a mistaken idea of chivalry to condemn men to death for alleged crimes against womanhood . Especially is this true in cases where the testimony is unsupported. " Instead of execution , Wallace advocates surgery to sterilize offenders : "Those who know anything of animal husbandry know that a vicious bull is tamed by the process...So that when men show themselves to be incorrigible criminals just call in a skillful surgeon and the future will assume a pleasanter look as far as the criminality of that man is concerned. " The article was written not long after the trials of the "Scottsboro Boys. "
Date
1931 April 25
Sort Date
1931-04-25
Time Period
1930-1939
Subject
African Americans--Civil rights Criminal justice, Administration of Criminology Punishment
Original Format
Newspapers
Collection Title
Birmingham Reporter
Location
37.2108
Catalog Record
http://archives-alabama-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/01ALABAMA:default_scope:01ALABAMA_ALMA215275770002743
Old Catalog Number
v377
Repository
Alabama Department of Archives and History, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130
Language
English
Rights
This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.
Digital Format
240 PPI TIFF
Project Name
Alabama History Education Initiative
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http://www.archives.alabama.gov/referenc/reproduction_order.pdf
Use Agreement Form
http://www.archives.alabama.gov/referenc/use_agreement_form.pdf
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Malone (text) 2010.06-A
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