The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1911-12-28
WHY BLACK WAS PARDONED.
Blease Gives Reasons for Extending
Clemency.

Columbia, Dec. 25.-The reasons
moving Gov. Blease to grant par
don to John Black, convicted at Ches-
ter last year in connection with for
mer State dispensary matters and
sentenced to the penitentiary for five
years by Special Judge Moore, and
which will be transmitted to the
legislature along with the reasons
in each case in which executive clem-
ency has been extended, were OBJ
tanned to-day and are as follows:
"Black, John, white, convicted at
the November, 1910, term of court
for Chester county of conspiracy to
defraud the State, and sentenced to
five years Imprisonment in the State
penitentiary.
''Should Have Been Acquitted"
after reading carefully the testi-
mony given in this case and the
charge delivered by the attorney
presiding as special judge, in my
opinion, John Black should have
been acquitted. I have practiced
law more than twenty-five years and
made a speciality of criminal cases,
having defended many capital cases
and very many of smaller nature,
and as to my reputation as criminal
lawyer, l gladly leave that to the
people of the counties where l have
practiced, and to the judgment of the
circuit judges before whom I have
appeared, and I think from my ex-
perience that l am as competent to
Judge of the testimony as that jury,
and as we'll posted on criminal law as
the lawyer who presided, and in my
opinion, when John Black was con-
victed and his codefendants acquit-
ted, justice demanded that the ver-
dict be set aside, and in my opinion
an impartial and unprejudiced and
we'll learned presiding officer, who
had no political prejudice against
the dispensary or Black, would have
so acted.
sOthers Let OFF,"
"Others have been let off by the
payment of a sum of money, who
askowledged guilt, and of an offence
involving much larger sums of money
than Blacks transaction. They were
saved from the stlIpes and allowed
to pay back to the State small,
measly pittance of what had been
received, while this man, one OF the
States own sons, was not allowed
the privilege or given the opportuni-
ty of paying a fine, but absolutely
forced into stripes and into prison;
but, forsooth, because he was sick
ly, the words without labor were
added to meet, I presume, the great
command to show mercy; such mercy
as this is a stencil in the nostrils of
men and mockery in the sight of
God. Notwithstanding the immunity
for pitiful sums given to these for
eigners, who had sworn in public
court that they had bribed and had
robbed the taxpayers of South Caro-
lima out of hundreds of thousands OF
dollars, the money was given back
to them, and all of it in the name of
the State of South Carolina.
Thinks Black 1.-THE Scapegoat."
"For these reasons, exercising my
legal right under the constitution and
statute laws of South Carolina, l
granted pardon to the defendant
thereby saving his brothers, some OF
whom are now holding high political
offices, and his sisters, and his true
and faithful wife and innocent, sweet
little children the humiliation OF
having their brother, husband and
father placed in stripes, and him the
disgrace that prejudiced political and
personal enemies attempted to heap
upon him. If that jury had convicted
all, l would not have interfered, but
I am satisfied because of personal
difficulty with one Of the State Of
ficers of this State that this man was
made the scapegoat of the entire dis
pensary regime.
"Why?"
Somebody must be punished to
save some peoples political reputa-
ton; a conviction must be had; who
shall it be? Of course, the man who
cursed the learned attorney general
to his face upon the street, and it
was not personally resented. Why
was the case transferred to Chester?
Why left there? Why was it not
tried in Columbia, or in the same cir
cult, at Kershaw, or if it must be in
the 9Th circuit, why not at Lancas-
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