The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1899-06-17
"BE JUST AND FEAR NOT"

McDonalo frankly SAID to you that did
not believe that Mcdonald was guilty of the
charge. and when you told me that you
thought Of entering plea OF guilty OF man
slaughter thought it Was understood be-
tween you and the district attorney that he
would accept such plea, as you could not
plead to manslaughter under an indictment
for murder without the court and district
attorney are willing to nolle pros. the muir
DER charge and accept a plea of guilty OF the
lesser offense OF manslaughter An accept
ance by them Of such plea would have been
an admission that the prosecution was un-
certain while a plea Of guilty Of murder was
after so explicitly said to you that I could
not. In advance OF conviction, promise to
pardon because OF the spirit OF the provis-
son, feel that you ought not to have per-
nlltted me to have been put in the attitude
OF violating this provision OF the Constitu-
tion's spirit when n line or two from you
would have cut from under the paper any
thing upon which he could have stood to
NAL e the charge Faithfully; etc:
"a few days afterwards I received
this reply:
".,Lehore County,
Coleman Il McClurg, s. R. Coleman,
e" Attorneys at Law. Monroe McClurg.
"'Cor. River Front and Howard sts
"'TelephOne No. 100.
"'Greenwood, Miss. IL, %. 1893.
"'Dear Anse-YOur letter fixing date OF
Miller business @ 9th OF January received % on
ny ny return home. ! hope you will contine n
davits are on file When they have the
world to draw from, they can no doubt find
others OF like character I have ever since
the delay tried my best to KEEP down any,
owner OF the Commonwealth would hardly
feel under obligations to me. Other papers
have respected my request, but. this one
does not. lean agree to about all that was
| said In lpttpr far IT. INT |
certainly could not say that acted as did
In the dark. Don't let's discuss this but
when the boy Yosrs is turned out ad y9a all
1.-THE next time I saw him, referred
10 his saying that my letter stated the
matter correctly as far as it went, and
asked: fSam, what is there left out of
the letter that ought to have been
stated?' He said: 'Anse, YOU told me
If you should pardon him ia thirty days
I must not make the State pay him the
$40 and suit of clothes. Ireplied: Yes,
| said that This is the only parties
ular in which be claimed then that my
letter TO him did not state the entire
substance of the conversation. think
Judge Coleman thought he could provo
that the young woman was previously
IClIdSIc. VI tIldU uCI D'OltlCt UCllCSCA 5p.
and that he acted thereon in agreeing
to Il verdict of guilty Of murder, al
though he had talked to me OF a plea
of manslaughter and not Of murder.
II heard witnesses of both sides at
, different times, as they could be pro-
. cured, and heard the last ones On the
lst OF February, when I was sick of
pneumonia. AS WAS recovering from
this sickness, l was informed that
: Judge Coleman was threatening II did
not pardon Miller to publish q state.
ment charging me with having prom
: ised before conviction to pardon him
At Batesvillc, Judge Kimbrough. who
|, from the first had urged a pardon, anc
| Mr.. McClurg, met me and again urged
, the application for pardon. l called
their attention TO Judge Coleman'i
threat, and stated to them that if, pend
S ing such threats, decided to pardon
1t would have the appearance of having
8 been extorted. They told me he hat
: abandoned the ide& ct making pub
> lication at all, and | then said. upo,
: their assurance that he had abandoned
, his threat to make such a publication
. if did not pardon, I would pass on thu
| matter next week. I did pardon the
: next week.
v "As officers OF the court and th
; grand jury had been charged with i'm
: proper conduct, and as the petition to
, pardon charged Mcdonald with Grim
) inal assault, and was satisfied neithe
was true, and as a pardon might I'm
ply that I found these charges true
, and as McDonald's tongue WIS still II
, death and whatever he had done hi
| memory had right to justice and fal
| dealing at the hands of the living,
' put this endorsement upon the pardon
] to-wit
GAS the petition for pardon in this
i case charged the deceased with forci-
, bic carnal knowledge OF the sister o
| the prisoner against her will, indorse
| hereon my finding upoa a searching in
] vestigation that deceased did not have
: or attempt 10 have, forcible carna
:. knowledge of the prisoners sister
, against her will; and that there was
l. not any improper conduct on the part
of any officer of the court in drawing OF
: empaneling the grand jury or other.
1 wise. or upon the part OF the granc
j. Jury in investigating the case ard pre-
, senting the Indictment
9 II embodied in the pardon condi'
tion that Miller should leave the state
within ten days. One, and a sufficient
v reason for this was the fact that in
formation had induced me to believe
q q that If he returned to Greenwood i
e would cause other killings. He hat
u lived in this state but few months
: and before he was indicted had returned
l. to Memphis to live. This is not tb,
n first conditional pardon granted.
y y pardoned man who had wrouged I
I woman under promise of marriage OF
IT condition that within certain time b.
" marry her and afterwards make her.
" dutiful husband. and he has kept tn
It conditions. A man was convicted i
:; Yalobusha county for wronging wo
ID man under promise Of marriage, an
IN he had married after conviction.
o. pardoned him on condition that he Ii
G. with her and make her a dutiful hus
OF band. He returned 10 live with he
i and kept the conditions Of the pardon
C. but some newspaper found In this a
p opportunity to abuse the governor 40
y stated that the conditions we're void
The man believed the newspaper, qu
hts wife and left the state. I sentafte
ur him and he is now In tho peuitentiar
II A man from Smith county had left h