THE MUNN DECISION.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 July 1930, Page 8

THE MUNN DECISION.

There will be general support oi the decision of the Executive that the law must take its course in regard to the prisoner Munn, who is to be executed for wife murder. So long as capital punishment remains the legal penalty for murder it would be difficult to point to any valid reason in the Munn ease for a lesser penalty. The circumstances surrounding the crime, even the means chosen for its accomplishment, revealed calculating cold-bloodedness and a. total disregard of the suffering inflicted upon the victim. It goes without saying that every shred of evidence in favour of the accused man was, placed before the jury and that the question of his guilt or innocence had the fullest consideration by his fellowcountrymen. Up to the stage of conviction and sentence there could be no criticism of the conduct of the case. What does not seem so satisfactory is the delay that has occurred since. The prisoner had the right to appeal from the verdict upon certain points of law. He exercised his right, but the Appeal Court did not hear the case until nearly a month after sentence of death had been passed. Nearly another month elapsed before the case was considered by the Executive, and the two periods seem altogether too long. In the Old Country an inquiry is proceeding in regard to capital punishment, and those who maintain that its deterrent effect is too valuable to be discarded agree that the customary period of three weeks which elapses between sentence and execution is unnecessarily long and inflicts a prolonged torture upon the condemned. In Munn’s case nearly thrice that period will have elapsed, and there seems little justification for the delay. It drew an angry protest from the prisoner’s counsel, which is clear proof that the delay could not have been merely for the purpose of giving every opportunity to a condemned man to plead his cause. Slackness, indecision and delay in such a case were just what should have been avoided.