The daily sentinel., 1910-04-26
RECORD OF PARD0NS
ISSUED BY PATTERSON

RECORD OF PARD0NS
ISSUED BY PATTERSON
+ s5s pardons issued in three +
= years and two months.
+ 152 murderers freed.
+ IO3 Illicit liquor sellers.
+ 175 persons convicted of carry
+ ing weapons. =
{: 124 persons convicted of lar :
= ceny. :
+ 4O2 persons convicted of other Z
+ misdemeanors.
: Average: Nearly 6 pardons a +
= week.
+ Record for one day: 3S. +
/. Work of 152 judges, 22S law +
F.! yers, 1924 jurymen in muir
+ der cases nullified.
Nashville. Tenn, Apr. 26.-The
opponents of Governor Malcolm r.
Patterson, who are severely criticis-
ing his action in pardoning Colonel
d. b. Cooper, convicted of the muir
der of ex-senator E. w. Carmack,
have turned to the records in the of
fee of the secretary of state, These
show that, in his three years and
two months in office, Patterson has
issued pardons to $50 men convicted
of felonies and misdemeanors.
He has pardoned 152 persons con-
victed of murder, 1913 Illicit liquor
sellers, 175 men convicted of carry
ing concealed weapons. 124 convicted
of larceny and 402 sentenced for 9TH
er misdemeanors.
In this state Illicit liquor selling
and the carrying of weapons are only
mlsdemeanors. Sometimes the ac-
cused is fined and given a work-house
sentence; at others only fine is ad-
ministered.
There are 1000 eohvicts confined
in prison in the state, and there is
hardly one who has not appealed for
clemency.
The governors friends have point
ed out that many of the pardons
granted were issued by him after pc
titions had been signed by citizens
of the community in which the va
rious crimes were committed. In
other instances the judge and attor-
ney general who tried the cases had
signed the petitions, and in still 9TH
ers a majority of the jurymen urged
clemency.
Some of the pardons were for men
in mines and main prison, who, be-
cause of disease or injury, were in
capacitated for work and had become
a burden upon the state.
The governor also liberated proba-
bly, 100 minors rather than have
them, as he said, confined with hard
ened criminals. There has never
been any concealment of the reasons
for his acts of clemency.
Ham Patterson's heart!" has been
a familiar exclamation in Tennessee
ever since he assumed direction of
the states affairs. From the first he
has used his pardoning power freely
and liberated notorious crooks. Be-
fore he began to WELD his pen Gov
ernor Bob Taylor held the record for
pardons; but Governor Patterson
quickly made a new mark He is
sued more than 200 pardons to Gov
ernor Bob's Is.
Not content with this, the new
governor turned loose 80 convicts in
a bunch. This was after he began
TO visit the mines and observe the
prisoners. The day he liberated them
he said he had not considered, in TAX
ing the action, how it would be re-
ceived. He declared he had exercised
the power placed in his hands by the
people in the interest of humanity
and in the interest of youths who
might be reclaimed. Furthermore,
he announced that he would continue
to exercise this clemency whenever
he was satisfied the cases were wor-
thy.
Before the eonvicts We're freed they
were taken before the governor, and
each promised that he should never
forget his kindness.