Richard H. Stanton to Thomas E. Bramlette

KYR-0001-004-1547.xml

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Accession Number

KYR-0001-004-1547

Document Genre

Correspondence

Repository

Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

Collection

Office of the Governor, Thomas E. Bramlette: Governor's official correspondence file, petitions for pardons, remissions, and respites 1863-1867

Item Location

BR12-394 to BR12-395

Place of Creation

Brooksville, Bracken County, Kentucky

Date of Creation

8 March 1865

Dates Mentioned

1865-03-08

Richard H. Stanton to Thomas E. Bramlette, 8 March 1865, Office of the Governor, Thomas E. Bramlette: Governor's official correspondence file, petitions for pardons, remissions, and respites 1863-1867, BR12-394 to BR12-395, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, KY. Accessed via the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition, discovery.civilwargovernors.org/document/KYR-0001-004-1547, (accessed January 4, 2025).

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Brookville, Bracken Co, Kentucky,
March 8th 1865,
Hon Thomas E, Bramlette,

Sir,The citizens of this county will present you a petition for the pardon of M^r Nelson Plummer, who was convicted at the present term of this Court, of the crime of false swearing, and sentenced to two years confinement in the Penitentiary, I was called into the case just as it came up for trial, the leading members of the bar here, being employed to prosecute, and ^were^ also witnesses in the case, It seems that Plummer was supposed to have been an active partizan in regulating the trade permits in this county, and consequently was the object of most implacable and inveterate prejudice, of which I was wholly ignorant until the case had progressed too far to ask a change of venue,

The charge against ^him^ was of swearing falsely upon a motion for a continuance of a civil case in which he was a party, The ~~should~~ words ^charged^ were that "he could prove" certain facts, by a certain witness &c, and the words proved were, "that he expected to prove by the absent witness" certain facts &c, "because he had seen the witness and he had told him so." The words alleged were unqualified, not stated to be in substance what he swore, The words proved differed as you will see in substance from these alleged; and for this reason, he ought not to have been convicted. The variance I thought was fatal, But in addition to this, it was proved that he did convene with the witness, and did ~~not~~ from that conversation, have reason to think he could prove what he said he expected to prove. There was no attempt to show that his oath was wilfully corrupt, and the falsity of the oath, was attempted to be proved ^only^ by the
person whose testimony he expected to get upon the motion for a continuance, the only person who was in a situation to do so, The court, whose duty it was to instruct the jury upon "the law applicable to the case", failed to instruct upon the most essential point, as to the quantity of testimony necessary to convict in such a case, One witness was not enough,

I moved in arrest of judgment and for a new trial, but both motions were overruled.

For either of the following reasons I thought he ought to have been acquitted; 1st, the words proved were not in substance the words charged in the indictment; 2nd, he proved himself innocent, because he had conversed with the witness and had reason to expect he could prove what he swore he expected to prove; 3rd, there was a total absence of any proof to show a wilfully corrupt intent; and 4th, but one witness attempted to prove the falsity of the oath,

The Judge & the lawyers who prosecuted him were all witnesses against the defendant, and I confess I felt mortification and chagrin that my somewhat earnest effort to obtain a new trial failed, I despair now of a fair bill of exceptions, and appeal to your clemency and sense of justice, for his release, The court of appeals will only reverse the case upon errors of law, and not because of failure of proof &c,

I say to you, upon my professional honor, that in all my experience, I have never seen a case where greater injustice has been done the defendant, and I ~~have~~ am firmly persuaded that he is more the victim of passion and prejudice than of crime,

With my earnest wish that you will grant the prayer of the petitioners from this county, and
pardon the prisoner, I beg you to accept assurances of my respect and esteem,

R. H. Stanton,

Bracken Cir Ct
vs
Nelson Plummer
False Swearing
Sent Penty
for
2 years

Rejected

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