The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-03-17
Til pard0BiHg Power.

Editor of The Times:
Sir desire to correct 4 statement
made by your valuable paper, i'll Your is
sue Of Sunday, March 10th, in your ac-
count of the pardon of JIarvc Pickett
called by YOU Henry PuGkett'D, to the
effect that the party presenting the appli-
cation was armed with a petition signed
hv the officers of the court and the jury
that tried Pickett Being the attorney
for the commonwealth who prosecuted
ruckctt and as usual ono OF the officers
Of the court and believing til" pardonlng
of him to be an outrage upon justice ana
an imposition upon society. / desire, IN
Justice to myself. at least, to say that 1
did not sign the petition, pit positively
refused to do so Neither was it signed
By The judge Who tried the case. lie also
refused The petition was signed by eleven
of the Jury. who signed it solely on ac-
count OF representations made TO them as
TO the condition of Puckett's health, as
shown by the petition, their information
as to his condition being based solely
upon the certificate OF physician. as also
shown by the petition, said certificate be-
ing made about a month prior to the date
of the prisoners pardon. Pickett. who
is an habitual drunkard, lives in what Is
known as "Slabtown,' on the suburbs OF
Lebanon. and last December, on Sunday,
Being Intoxicated and, after telling two
~ three parties that morning that II Ed
McCIoud, against whom he had taken
some offensc, came TO Shutdown that
law he would Kill him. and that he had
his gun loaded for that purpose. In the
evening he provoked quarrel with Nc
Cloud, who was passing through IN the
aublic highway, and deliberately went to
his house, got his shotgun, and returns
ing shot McCloud down in the road. Nc
Cloud was wounded i'll the neck and shout
der. barely escaping death. and still mas
an arm dangling useless at his side. Puck
EFT WAS tried at the January term OF the
Comfy Court convicted of malicious
shooting with intent to kill and, no doubt
on account of his age, he being some tif-
ty-five or six years old. given two years
in the penitentiary. lie was sick, or
said to be- about the time the petition
and certificate We're prepared, though just
how much OF that sickness was real and
how much faSncd, j am unable to say.
Suffice ii to say, however, he had about
recovered All The time of the pardon, and
when released was able to walk home on
Get q distance Of about one mile. The
-e-tict of the jury, in my humble JudS-
1.en-, WAS a Very mercitul one, as Well
$ a righteous ~one, albeit he could have
This is not The first time Pickett has been
N the hands of the law. by any means,
having been in many difficulties before,
ma at one time barely escaped killing an
8 ffiCcr vino was trying TO arrest him, the
all passing through the officers hat. SUCH
was the case aud such is 'liarve,'
thez real article" instead of the
gallant Confederate soldier, as he
vas represented to you. As TO his be-
ING a. member of. the immortal "Picketts
DIVISION i had never heard it before,
md the news of his charge at Gettys-
,,.rS.' had not yet reached as here.
Verify, the securing of pardons for
arious offences has become to be mat
or Of small moment, and it seems to.
ne that in the approaching Constitutional
Convention serious consideration should
se given TO the question of the pardonng
cover and some wholesome check be
laced upon it, or else criminal courts 4
should be abolished, and thus save theus-
tnds OF dollars 10 the Commonwealth
n Il