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justice gnd Chessman Y/HEN Caryl Chessrean’ “finally was executed yester day, it had been 12 ears (less 19 days) since a jury, which » ad an option in deciding his penalty, _oted the death sentence. Meanwhile, he _ ad been granted seven court stays and ~ Yeprieve. “. “No case in modern history,” said ov. Edmund G. Brown, “has received . ore careful scrutiny by both state and ederal judiciary. ” The Governor, a vehement opponent _f eap‘tal punishment, personally ex- -mined every phase of the case and ported : . “The record shows a deliberate career 'f robberies and kidnappings, followed on, accomplished atthe p oi n t of a aded gun.’ Chessman’s criminal record dated ack to 1987. His 1948 conviction em- raced 17 different crimes, within 20 is. Included were four kidnapings, n attempted yape and two cases in ‘hich women Were forcibly compelled to ommit acts of perversion. His second victim, a 17-year-old girl, - 3 still hopelessly confined in a mental iospital—possibly dooméd for life. The question is not whether Chess- in was guilty. There is no reasonable wabt about ‘that, despite his denials. -y sexual assaults and. acts of perver-— Neither is there doubt that he was just- ly: tried. Nor is there any doubt that - in any other country in the world would ‘Chessman and his attorneys have: re- ceived from a judicial system so many opportunities of review and appeal. indeed, his attorneys used this scru- pulous judicial attention to their own delaying tactics—which took 12 years— to claini that their delays constituted punishment enough. ' The question is not justice for Chess- man, The question is whether or not the’ state—any state—should inflict capital punishment for anything. Hf there were some way that mon- sters like Chessman could be kept safe- ly under lock and key, society would probably be more ready to abolish ¢api- tal punishment. In Califor nia, a | life prisoner is elivi- ble ‘for parole in_seven_years, glib” Fan like Chessman probably w ould | have been freed, and by now would have com- mitted sever al additional heinous attacks. — When the duration of a jail term more nearly approaches the ‘sentence handed down, and when a life term means just that, the abolition of ca pital punishment will be“more readily ob- tained. The basic point is not punish- ment or revenge; the basic point is the protection of society. .. Ct . RECS | op be pes, oN Wie VL oe “08 gitan ! oacntt Ns at / ~ a, , . ‘ (1K? . moseh en ed D6 /..3Tamm i Nfrstter . WAC. oe ‘“ a b _ Tele. Room —_ (| Ingram Gandy ee ee f The Washington Post and_t: * Times Herald The Washington Dally News __. The Evening Star ~New York Herald Tribune ew York Journal-American ew York Mirror New York Daily News —____,__ a . “Nsw A ore Post “The New York Times The Worker “The New Leadet The Wall Street Journal