Brownlow's Knoxville Whig. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1866-1869, 1868-03-18
Report of the Special Joint Committee
Appointed By the Senate and House
o. Representatives, with Reference
TO the Pard0ning OF COnVicts out OF
the PenitentIarY.


to the Pard0ning OF COnVicts cut OF
the PenitentiaFy.
The above report, signed by general W.
J. Smith, Chairman Of the Senate Commit
zee, and F. S. Singletary, Chairman of the
House Committee, is carefully prepared
document, presenting to the Legislature
and people, the reasons for an exercise of the
pardoning power by the Governor The
great clamor of thercbel papers against the
granting of pardons during the present
State administration might induce stran-
ger to believe that dangerous characters
have been turned loose by wholesale to
prey upon society The facts throw q very
different light on this matter from that as
serted by disloyal papers.
The committee state
Upon instituting q comparison as TO the
extent to which executive clemeney has
been exercised in the different States, your
committee find that the proportion in Ten
nessee is very small even insignificant
And that in some Of the States, more par
dons have been granted in one year, than
for the whole of the specified period of
eleven years, in Tennessee.
After a careful analysis, examining each
individual case Of the $40 convicts now in
the prison, the facts and figures show that
232 commitments were for petit larceny,
not averaging IN the aggregate five dollars
IN each separate case, making the sum total
but a fraction over $1,000, for which &C
o0mm0dation must be made for 232 convicts
in Penitentiary wall and cells It is mat
ter of documentary proof that many crimi-
nails are sent here for effenses ranging from
eight cents, the value of fence rail, to all
intermediate sums not reaching IS, from re-
mote counties of the State, entailing, di-
reotly, an expense, Of over two hundred
dollars for the delivery of the prisoner at
the Penltentlary--as in recent case, where
the offense was for stealing an old pair of
shoes worth, perhaps, fifty cents, and re-
sulting indirectly to loss Of from $500 to
$500 to the State, before the expiration of
his term of service. In the aggregate
then, we are justified in Stating, that for
the pecuniary loss or damage OF 81 600 in
amount, the State incurs cash liability, in
advance, of between $4,000 and 100000,
to be abated only by whatever Of profit
she can realize out of the labor of the con
Wet, and all past experience has proven the
unreliability from that source As a gen
eral fact, it may be stated, that, from close
investigation, it is found that all the cases,
of both petit and grand larceny, out of the
whole number of $40 convicts, will not foot
up to exceed $4,000. That some $50 men
should be sentenced to the Penitentiary,
with q lifelong disgrace attached to such
punishment, for so small sum in she ag-
gregate, is marvel upon the Justice and
wisdom Of society, when every mans CON
seriousness tells him that the whole country
is teeming with individual thefts and rob
berries, that dwarfs the $4,000 to an insig-
nifcant sum.
One would readily infer that, in large
number of the foregoing cases, the prejudice
of rebel juries had more 10 do with con
viction than either the law or the testimo-
ny. In looking over the column of offenses
we find that there arc number of twenty
five and thirty cent larcenies The follow
ing list Of the crimes, on which convictions
we're based, is fair sample Of the felonies
committed by convicts who are recon
mended to the mercy of the Governor
Money, $3.50 Money, I.75; gun, 1.5O;
money, 10.0Gs clothing, 1000; mule, 1000; ;
butter, p ibsN Is cents; meal, bushel and
8 TBS, meat zoo; money, LOO; circus
tickets, four, 200; boots, 800; watch,
1000 sheep, 800, hog, 500; turkey, 100;
goods, 1890 hog, 900; horse, $500; bacon,
500; bacon, 4.00; pig, 500, clothing, 800,
sheep, 300; watch, 1900; pig, 800; money,
coo
It viii DC observed that nearly all Of the
above thefts were for either food or clothing.