MEXICO: Crime & Punishment

The murder of gentle Senator Mauro Angulo Hernandez put many a Mexican in an eye-for-an-eye mood. To curb such barbarism, cried Supreme Court Justice Luis G. Corona, the death penalty for murder, outlawed in the federal district since 1929, ought to be reestablished. Said the conservative Excelsior. “Society is handcuffed before the criminal, and the prestige of the country demands stronger methods. The [Porfirio] Díaz dictum—catch in the act, kill on the spot—unquestionably yielded better results. … It is urgently necessary to teach a lesson to potential murderers by means of heavy punishment.” Abreast of current opinion, a Pittsburgh electric supply house sent down a catalogue showing the latest thing in electric chairs.

Meanwhile, the cops got confessions from Senator Angulo’s killers—two gunmen and a wealthy contractor who thought the Senator stood in the way of his political ambitions. One midnight last week they set out from Mexico City with the three prisoners, headed for Vera Cruz, where they said they were going to look for two more suspects.

Along the road, by the story the cops told later, one of the gunmen asked for a moment’s halt, and everyone got out of the car. Then, the police solemnly reported, somebody jostled somebody else, and the three prisoners started to run. Then, in line with the traditional ley de fuga (shot while trying to escape), they were killed in their tracks.