Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1921-02-17
Register County Thursday February
MD-T|ME GOVERNORS
HAD THEIR TROUBLES
Pleas For Pardon For Onense:
Just AS Strong and Hard To
Resist AS Now
(Ry Associated Flea 81


Frankfort. Ky, Feb. 17.-Trials
and tribulations Of modern day
governors are nothing new, ud@-
ing from letters and other docll
Inents in the files OF executive pa
pers OF early governors of the
state Pleas for pardOns Ill that
,dav were as iorcelul and as i'm
fortunate as today. the files show,
Within two months after he
took Office on June +. 1872, Gov.
Isaac Shelby was faced with pc
titions for the pardon Of one inc.
Smith, late OF North Carolina.
who was convicted in Lexington
OF horse stealing and sentenced
to death. Smith according TO lei
tiers from Judge Samuel w. Nc
iDOWcll. OF the district court al
tLeXington. Judge John Allen AMI
John Coburn. did become greatly
alarmed when he heard the sen
!tence," and. in the parlancc OF tn
'modern day crook. "snitchcd. He
told who his accomplices were
and although their names are no
mentioned in any Of the letters,
the writer's all state that i j. eNl-
dent that Smith was led into tile
crime by evil associates and that
ne had had good reputation pre-
viouslv and would reform ii par
doncd.
The date set for hanging Smith,
who WAS confined III the LeN:nG-
ton gaol. was set for Scptc,nhc.
/. 1902. but on August u Govern
or Shelby pardoned him. Nj @,
the correspondence i'll the case i.
clcalv lc%iblc although the papc'
is yelloWed with age and marks
of the rcd wax with which the LEI
tiers were sealed are still plain.
The second case which bears
earmarks of modern pardon ap-
peal is that of William Cox. alsC
known as Devil" Cox and Dew!
.Will" Cox. Cox was tried on g
charge OF making hard and pa
per money!. otherwise known as
counterfeiting in that he ATTEMPT
ed to pass ten counterfeit Spanish
millcd dollars on a merchant Ill
Danville. He was pardoned June
10, lI04. but not before Il score or
more OF petitions and letters had
reached the governor.
The case OF Cox evidently STIR
red the bluegrass region thoroly, |
for hundreds OF names Of men, !
some of them known in history !
were signed to the petitions ask /
ing executive ClemenCy. letter !
after letter importuned Governor
Shelby to pardon Cox and in CIV
cry one great stress was laid on !
the fact that he had wife and
six children "who were greatly
gricved" and that a pardon would
be followed no doubt by reiOrma'
ton. Mrs. Sally Cox. the vile.
was very active, for IN
every instance the petitions and
letters spoke of her as asking the
pardon. before the name OF her
husband was mentioned. |
Cox. however, either did not re-
form or else some OF his old
crimes came up to face him. for
in the same file dated three |
months later is beautifully
written copy OF a warrant Tor Cox
and a requisition on the governor
of Kentucky for his return to
Knoxville, Tenn. on the charge OF |
counterfeiting This was United
States Indictment and was signed |
by William B. Blount, governor
of the Southern Territory OF the
United States.
Penalties in the early days OF
the commonwealth were extreme
and there was no means between
the sentence inflicted and par
Idon. The case of Basil, a negro
belonging to Samuel Noildc OF
Bourbon county, wherein the ne
gro was sentenced to death for
stealing SIS from the home of one
James Thomas. is related in the
files OF Governor Shelby. Basil
was valued by the district court
at Lexington at IS English
pounds and officials OF the court.
although agreeing that the negro
was guilty. recommended that he
be pardoned inasmuch as sos of
the stolen money had been re-
The conviction was OBJ
tanned June 80, 1872. and the-olay
of his death set for July 80. but
on July 25rGovernor Shelby sign