The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1912-10-09
Governor Talked of PardonS.

During his visit to Spartan
burg last week Governor Blease
was interviewed by reporter
of the Herald, who quoted him
as expressing himself on the
subject of pardons as follows:
AS one of the reasons given
for the governors liberal exer
else of the pardoning power was
that many cases worthy of elem
ency had been allowed to &C.
cumulate in the penitentiary
through the inactivity of pre-
ceeding governors in this re.
spect. Mr.. Blease was asked
if he had weeded out most OF
these meritorious cases.
"There are some left," he
answered, but not a great many.
I have in mind a negro named
Carolina, or something like that,
who has served twenty three
years of a life sentence. That
man mas been kept in the peni-
tentiary for no other reason
than because he makes such
toothsome pickles that the peni
tentiary officials are unwilling to
lose his services. On that &C.
count they have resisted his ef.
forts to get a pardon. I intend
to act in his case, however, as !
believe that a man, after having
made a good prisoner for twenty
two or twenty. three years ought
to be given another chance out.
side of prison walls.
There are some prisoners in
the penitentiary who have been
there so long that they have been
forgotten by people on the out,
side. So far as their friends or
relatives are concerned they are
dead. There was one prisoner,
Bachus Horlbeck, a Charleston
negro, who rad been in the pen.
itentiary so long that when he
was released he felt strange and
i'll at ease. and actually returned
to the penitentiary and asked
Captain Griffith, the superinten-
dent, to give him work, and that
man is now, although free man,
working behind prison walls.
Il believe in giving a convict
who has behaved himself in pris-
on, another chance in the world.
But it would, of course, be out
of the question to unlock the
penitentiary doors and tu r n
everybody loose. I have seen all
the prisoners in the penitentiary
lined up-the white men on one
side and the negroes on another.
And [ am sorry to say that on
the whole the faces of the white
men were meaner and more vic
ious than those of the negroes.
The faces of some of the white
convicts are so sullen and mean
as to be absolutely repulsive. 1t
would be out of the question to
pardon these fellows, for they
would be more than likely to kill
the men responsible for their
conviction, or burn down their
houses.
Governor Blease said he be.
lieved the people approved of his
pardon record and that instead
of hurting him it had actually
helped to re elect him.
Speaking of the charge that it
was impossible to get a pardon
except through certain lawyer
friends of the governor, M r.
Blease remarked that Joshua
Ashley, OF Anderson county, a
farmer, had possibly obtained
more pardons than any other
man. Mr.. Blease also remarked
that he had gran led a number of
pardons at the solicitation of men
who opposed him IN politics,
mentioning Frank Thompkins,
attorney for Judge Jones: Chris
tie Benet, secretary of the Dem
state executive commit
tee, and T. B. Butler, Mayor of
Gafney, as political enemies to
whom he had granted such IA
vors.
In this connection Sam J.
Nichols, who was present dur
ing the conversation, stated that
although he had been spoken Of
as the one man through whom
pardon could be obtained in Spar
tanburg county; as a matter OF
fact he had been interested in
only three of twenty-seven cases
Of executive clemency in this
county.
The governor discussed the re-
ports that the. lawyers designat-
ed as "pardon brokers" were
paid for the pardons. Mr.. Blease
said it was no more right that
these lawyers should charge fees
Tor their professional services in
drawing up and circulating the
petitions for the pardon.
He said if he had been reward.
ng his close lawyer friends by
throwing a big pardon business
l:,saE