Crime and Punishment
The Molly Maguires were generally seen, outside their circle of supporters, as murderers, terrorists, and foreign agitators. In 1877, along with three other men (Michael Doyle, John Donahue and Edward Kelly), Campbell was convicted of the murders of John P. Jones and Morgan Powell, but he admitted to only being an accessory. Evidence collected was presented by a single detective from the Pinkerton Agency.
The convicts were taken to Carbon County Jail, and Campbell was assigned to cell #17. For days they were forced to listen to the noise made whilst the gallows were being built, outside in the courtyard. On the morning of execution, the courtyard was packed with people. The convicts kept their dignity, but when the guards went to fetch Campbell, he tried one last time to proclaim his innocence. When they refused to let him go, he put his hand in the dirt, and marked the wall with it, stating the mark would remain forever as a sign of his innocence. All four men were then hanged.
Read more about this topic: Alexander Campbell (businessman)
Famous quotes containing the words crime and, crime and/or punishment:
“Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)
“The penalty may be removed, the crime is eternal.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
“All in all, punishment hardens and renders people more insensible; it concentrates; it increases the feeling of estrangement; it strengthens the power of resistance.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)