THE THIRD DEGREE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 14004, 13 September 1909, Page 3

THE THIRD DEGREE.

NEW YORK TOLICE METHODS. The reeeW? missionary in uuiuatown, >ew *«>»*»• has brought to the notice of Englishmen (says the "Spectator "; the "third degree" system of questioning prisoners by which the New York police extractetd a confession Iroin • a supposed accomplice of the murderer. The police are said to be " pleased with the working of the system." It their purpose is to extract the greatest, possible number of confessions: without reference "to tlteir valuo, we can believe it. For the "third decree" -is nothing. less., than.-torture —, torture of the lhind, it. is true, but torture of the mind k difficult thing to distinguish front pnysi-. cal torture. The mental and physical processes'are so closely locKeu taa» the one* is iuerged; jri ;the other sodnei* or later; lh different persons the one passes into the, other at different staged.- In the- case of -the Cbinanian who was subjected to the '.'third degree" the other day tn* success i iomplete. They la' even a pic-tton-sQue confessiqu.; -The pr-sdner described fco«r he had looked through the kevhole of the: doer in wh'Ch the murder was committed, atod lro-v i-e had seen. another ..Chfnairian—tho one whom the.police ars to. pi vie: guiltv, of eourse-f-seiie the girl and Kill her in exactly tnat, manner whwli fitted in with: all the'hints and promptings of the police* The fact is- 1 hatas one can -prove anythingby- statistics,** so one prove anything by torture. The Chinese, victim, of the ;*'third degree" was,not the man the police supposed, t v nn\ and had not been nearAthe-scene of the murder; as thev afterwards-discovered.. But we shall expecfe .confessions to become as plentiful asj blackberries if the •' third degree " sontjntfts to -..be. t'ised. A fanat*>i*? -religioife; exalt, might P9. dpubt jrefitso to confess under $p nffhtal batferingrams of the " third-degree V; but a, simple creature, su44 as *e niaj- sup-; pose the persecutedrChinaman.to have been, who has no da«in6n:: >vithin 'hitti.i, to uirect or to ■> safey caves nv add purchases relief with the considered lie - ■'-'■■ i> '- ■' ''■■ Accounts in the ; lrnvc informed us that ; the'-" third- degn-e (eposes the prisoner ;tp iineeasiu«uqui'Stioning for many hours. "The 'linics ' ? correspondent sa jfs. £ba£- , the ; primer, is sometimes treated.* in this "w«jf'' torthirtv hours without-^ a break, ~arid, swoons at the end. >He is threatened; and hectored, and tins t.Del.ingsv aro : worked upon by a pretence amoAg his inquisitors that they, have learned all about Ins guilt, and that., a confession will be for his p\vit ,'goiki. . It Is* .said that in the case th> body of the dead person,, 'is sometimes brought, and the prisoner is torcetl tn loul-h it; and' to handle the weapon with which the deed .was done. Jtanc readers will he "rettiiftded litre ot tnc ancient, barbaric, ami superstitious trial by ordeal hy :whidi,the contract of the murderer was supposed to make the Wood flow forth again trom tM wounds of ilie deaa. Among po<* people in some district* ol Kngtand it is still the custom, v.c believe tor visitors to a lier?avefL honsenold to touch the dead body to show that there was no ill-feeling between them and the deceased. And who can lorget the awful force with which vShakespeare plays on the same idea in -Richard HI," wh«m Richard approaches Henry's body't—- - O gentlemen, see, see! «<?ad Hcnrv's wounds Open their congealed months and bleed, afresh!" . AYe «lo not wish to refine too much upon this point, but it is »i all .event, right to say as much as this—that ignorant minds are affected terribly by niethbds which might seem only a, dull melodrama to more cultivated, and that any system which plies sriper-

stition and' stupidity i& extort confession is infamous. The '•'• -"Manchester Guardian" mentions that J'rofessor Hugo Munsterbcrg, in a recent book oh ."Psychology, and Crime," cites an instance in much an innocent man, ar•rcsted by mistake; was induced to conf.ss to a murder which lie nad not confmirted. He confessed simply to escape.tho mental agony of the "third degreo " questioning. He was executed: That may bo the only case ; f the kind... \\e cannot say; It may be tnat all other cases are only like that of the Chinaman, in wlncn the police put themselv€*s to infinite pains in order to get themselves fooled. Uut, whatever the truth, enough has been seen of the '.'third degree'' iu make it probable that every respectable American will wish to have it abolished, on the ground that it conflicts with common sense as much as with humanity. Torriire never did, and never can, prove "anything. History has Shown that- the ■ te'ilacity, - even the calloiisiuss, of victims in resisting torture equalled the ingenuity and persistence of the tormentors.- Resistance proves as little as surrender. The prisoner who is Conscious of his guilt under such a.method ns-the "tnird degree''; has a stronger,; motive 'tor '.coming through the ordeal than an innocent man has. That is. an unnatural' inversion which iilone condemns the "third degree" as futile.

- The name "tiiird degree" has v such iigly associations that oii'o marvels at the daring or cynicism which ventured to revive it;- -In the dungeons of .N'ur-' cinberg and similar: places the. torture Khown as the "second degree" included tho crushing of the head, feet, or thnmiis, whiK» tlio'" third degree' - included liurning the sides, arms, and huger-nails with red-hot irons. JtToJbably the . use .of tlie latter, name ..in i\ew i crfc Ls supposed, however, to d»note_.a. certain i-ircumspectness, leni.ency,'or at least legitimacy, in the application of mental torture. Ijut we 'should-still, think it utterly wrong, ybx'ffu if it.'were in luithe ana fact toriure of the fourth, fifth, sixth,' or TKyentn r G»gre;.'. ; it' is well Known rihat alter torture had be«-ii generally 7{ilhilisiiuetl. in 'England, where it was ■never legal and never common—per-jHiips-iit: wsis .tyen* unknown before the .fourteenth century —it was retained in the trials of 'witches. At length it became evident .that there was a rcina'rkable'.'similarity in the confessions ol'-thv so-cafLd witches: they all adopted the tame Jorm, aiiu in many cases 't-.ie same words: there was a Kind, of .(professional'- iiiKicrstaudiiig apparently uhioiig the Sssterlmotl as to what it would be best to say if the. worst came to rhe worst. No one who is not ignorant <>f tiiat established example or vague preparatory collusion could ever, wtT should think,- look with .anything but contempt" on efforts to. arrive at the truth by means of tortlire.' .