The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 08 (of 12): Dresden Edition—InterviewsIngersoll, Robert Green
Religion
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 08 (of 12): Dresden Edition—Interviews
Ingersoll, Robert Green
Free thought
_Question_. Do you think that men are naturally criminals and
naturally virtuous?
_Answer_. I think that man does all that he does naturally--that
is to say, a certain man does a certain act under certain circumstances,
and he does this naturally. For instance, a man sees a five dollar
bill, and he knows that he can take it without being seen. Five
dollars is no temptation to him. Under the circumstances it is
not natural that he should take it. The same man sees five million
dollars, and feels that he can get possession of it without detection.
If he takes it, then under the circumstances, that was natural to
him. And yet I believe there are men above all price, and that no
amount of temptation or glory or fame could mislead them. Still,
whatever man does, is or was natural to him.
Another view of the subject is this: I have read that out of fifty
criminals who had been executed it was found, I believe, in nearly
all the cases, that the shape of the skull was abnormal. Whether
this is true or not, I don't know; but that some men have a tendency
toward what we call crime, I believe. Where this has been ascertained,
then, it seems to me, such men should be placed where they cannot
multiply their kind. Women who have a criminal tendency should be
placed where they cannot increase their kind. For hardened criminals
--that is to say, for the people who make crime a business--it
would probably be better to separate the sexes; to send the men to
one island, the women to another. Let them be kept apart, to the
end that people with criminal tendencies may fade from the earth.
This is not prompted by revenge. This would not be done for the
purpose of punishing these people, but for the protection of society
--for the peace and happiness of the future.
My own belief is that the system in vogue now in regard to the
treatment of criminals in many States produces more crime than it
prevents. Take, for instance, the Southern States. There is hardly
a chapter in the history of the world the reading of which could
produce greater indignation than the history of the convict system
in many of the Southern States. These convicts are hired out for
the purpose of building railways, or plowing fields, or digging
coal, and in some instances the death-rate has been over twelve
per cent. a month. The evidence shows that no respect was paid to
the sexes--men and women were chained together indiscriminately.
The evidence also shows that for the slightest offences they were
shot down like beasts. They were pursued by hounds, and their
flesh was torn from their bones.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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