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COMMUNICATION FROM THE EXECUTIVE

IN RELATION TO

PARDONS, REPRIEVES, COMMUTATIONS, ETC.

OF PUNISHMENT,

DURING THE YEAR 1873.

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA,

EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, Dec. 31st, 1873.

To the General Assembly:

In obedience to the last clause of the fifth section of article four of the constitution, which declares that the governor shall communicate to the general assembly, at each session, the particulars of every case of fine or penalty remitted, of reprieve or pardon granted, and of punishment commuted, with his reasons for remitting, granting or commuting the same, I have the honor to transmit herewith a list of all the pardons, reprieves and commutations of punishment granted during the year 1873.

There have been seventy-seven applications made, of which fifty-five were refused, and I have granted seven conditional and fifteen absolute pardons.

G. C. WALKER.

PARDONS, REPRIEVES, COMMUTATIONS, ETC.

1. James P. Stroup, of Wythe county, convicted of house-breaking and larceny at the March term (1870) of the county court for the county of Wythe, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of five years.

Pardoned January 20th, 1873, for the following reasons: This party has served out nearly three-fifths of the time for which he was sentenced to the penitentiary, and has become incurably diseased with consumption-the surgeon of the penitentiary certifying that, in his opinion, "he will die within the next six or eight months," and the petition was signed by a large number of citizens.

2. John Brown, of Frederick county, convicted of grand larceny at the January term (1869) of the county court for the county of Frederick, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of five years.

Pardoned March 8th, 1873, for the following reasons: The jury in their verdict say, that "in consideration of the youth of the prisoner, and the circumstances of the case, we recommend the said John Brown to the clemency and mercy of his excellency, the governor of Virginia;" in which recommendation the commonwealth's attorney, the presiding justice, and many other good and worthy citizens of Frederick county unite; and further, the prisoner has already been sufficiently punished.

3. Thomas R. Bird, of Alexandria city, convicted of bigamy at the July term (1871) of the corporation court of the city of Alexandria, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of three years.

Pardoned March 13th, 1873, for the following reasons: First, because threefourths of the jury before whom said Bird was tried, in petitioning for his immediate pardon, state that "while his offence came within the letter of the law, yet the circumstances justified the infliction of its mildest penalty only, and with that view we fixed the term of imprisonment at the shortest time allowed; and that had the law fixed the minimum term for the offence at a less number of years, we should still have brought our verdict down to that term, giving the said Thomas R. Bird the benefit of the shortest time." Second, because of the many extenuating circumstances urged in behalf of the petitioner, and the fact that he has already been imprisoned in all over twenty months, and because his pardon has been asked by nearly 300 good and worthy citizens of the Commonwealth, including one hundred members of the present general assembly.

4. Lawrence Murphy, of Richmond city, convicted of unlawful shooting at the April term (1872) of the hustings court of the city of Richmond, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of three years.

In this case the sentence was, on the 18th of May, 1872, commuted to imprisonment in the city jail for the term of twelve months, and under a writ of habeas corpus granted by the judge of the circuit court for the city of Richmond, the prisoner was discharged from custody on the 14th of June following. Subsequently the court of appeals granted a writ of error and supersedeas to the judgment rendered by the circuit court, and the prisoner was remanded to jail, where he remained three months, and was finally pardoned on the 17th of March, 1873, because all these proceedings endured by the petitioner, and the imprisonment he had undergone, were considered sufficient punishment for the offence committed, and executive clemency was asked for by eleven of the jury and the Commonwealth's attorney who tried the petitioner, by the officers of the court and city, by the injured party, and by many good and worthy citizens.

5. John White, alias Geo. W. Johnson, of Clarke county, convicted of horse stealing at the February term (1868) of the circuit court for the county of Clarke, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of fourteen years. Pardoned March 18th, 1873, on condition that he leave the State and never more return, for the following reasons: Executive clemency was asked for by the court, Commonwealth's attorney, a portion of the jury, the party injured, and several citizens; and granted on the condition above mentioned, and because the original sentence was excessive.

6. Landon F. Lovett, of Loudoun county, convicted of horse stealing at the October term (1866) of the circuit court for the county of Loudoun, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of fourteen years.

Pardoned April 3d, 1873, for the following reasons: There is grave doubt as to the guilt of the petitioner, and even if guilty he has already endured sufficient punishment for the offence; two-thirds of the jury who tried him, twenty-three members of the legislature, and nearly one hundred citizens, recommend his pardon.

7. James Reilly, of Norfolk city, convicted of manslaughter at the October term (1872) of the corporation court of the city of Norfolk, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of five years.

Pardoned May 27th, 1873, for the following reasons: That newly discovered evidence, not before the jury, but filed with the petition for pardon, if it does not conclusively establish the innocence of the petitioner, at least renders his guilt exceedingly doubtful; because substantially recommended, before said evidence was produced, by the judge who presided at the trial, by a portion of the jury, by nearly all the members of the bar of Norfolk, by the mayor and many prominent citizens.

8. Charles T. Emanuel, of Campbell county, convicted of horse stealing at the May term (1867) of the county court for the county of Campbell, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of twelve years.

Pardoned May 31st, 1873, on condition that he leave the State never to return, for the following reasons: Because recommended by the attorney for the Commonwealth who tried the case, endorsed by the judge who presided at the trial, on the ground that the punishment awarded by the jury was excessive (with which I fully concur), in which recommendation a large number of the prominent citizens of Campbell county united, including the owner of the property stolen.

9. Frederick N. Glascock, of Fauquier county, convicted of manslaughter at the April term (1873) of the circuit court for the county of Fauquier, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of two years.

1873, June 19th, sentence reduced to imprisonment in the county jail for the term of one year from the date of his sentence (26th April, 1873), and pardon granted on condition that the prisoner serve out that term; for the following reasons: The petition in this case is for absolute pardon, and is signed by the jury who tried the petitioner, by the members of the bar and ministers of the gospel of Fauquier county, and by nearly nine hundred good and worthy citizens. Under all the circumstances it is considered that one year's imprisonment in the county jail, in addition to what he has already endured, is sufficient expiation of the offence committed.

10. Chapman Johnson (colored), of Staunton, convicted of petit larceny at a magistrate's court of the city of Staunton, and sentenced to imprisonment in the city jail for the term of sixty days.

Pardoned August 20th, 1873, for the following reasons: The petitioner is afflicted with pulmonary disease, which is aggravated by confinement in prison to such an extent as to endanger his life-so officially certified and sworn to by the physician to the jail, and indorsed by the mayor, and the petition signed by a large number of citizens.

11. Philip Epps (colored), of Amelia county, convicted of assault and battery at the February term (1873) of the county court for the county of Amelia, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of one year.

Pardoned September 3d, 1873, for the following reasons: The petitioner is a youth of only fourteen years of age, and has served six months in the penitentiary, where, in my opinion, he never ought to have been sent. The judge who presided at the trial, the Commonwealth's attorney who conducted the trial, officers of the court and county, and many good citizens, recommend a reduction of sentence to some lighter punishment.

12. William Curtis (colored), of Richmond city, convicted of forgery at the February term (1871) of the hustings court of the city of Richmond, and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for the term of three years.

Pardoned September 5th, 1873, for the following reasons: This party has served out over three-fourths of the term for which he was sentenced, and has become incurably diseased with consumption-the surgeon of the penitentiary, in his last certificate, stating as follows: "I fear he will only live a week or two-certainly, in my opinion, not longer than the middle of October."

13. Allen T. Mitchell, of Patrick county, convicted of an attempt to produce abortion at the May term (1873) of the county court for the county of Patrick, and sentenced to imprisonment in the connty jail for the term of six months.

Pardoned October 25th, 1873, for the following reasons: The petitioner has been sufficiently punished for all the wrong done or intended. This is the opinion of most of the county officers, members of the bar, and a large number of citizens, who have presented several petitions asking for his pardon, and but about one month of the sentence is unexpired.

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