To His Excellency Beriah Magoffin Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky

Your Petitioner would most humbly represent to your Excellency that at the last Sept Term of the M^cLean Circuit Court, they your Petitioners were empannelled as a Jury to try Stephen Duval for murder he was tried & found guilty They would represent unto your Excellency that although from the rules of law & the instructions given them they were bound to find that he had mind enough to be found guilty of crime yet it was clearly proven that he was a person of very weak mind a great drunkard & great coward & we had not the least doubt but that he was either lead or forced into a participation in the crime by one or two other bold daring & wreckless & desperate men he being at the time in all probability under the influence of liquor or even drunk From these Considerations, the respectability of his family his widower mother & the universal sympathy that exists in his favor we most humbly Petition your excellency to interpose in his behalf & charge if in your power the punishment of death to that of confinement in the penitentiary for a Term of years. or if you have not such power that you respite him til the Legislataure will clothe your Excellency with it —

We would here state that if it had not been for the position instruction of the Court we would have found the offense manslaughter instead of murder. We can not but think that the executive Clemency would be wisely humanely exercised in this case: Your Excellency as the chief officer of this good old Commonwealth & there has

been wisely placed in your hands the power to relieve the poor Convict prisoner when from the strict rules of law Juries can have no mercy & we the late triers of the unfortunate Duval become humble Petitioners in his behalf & will ever pray &c

Issue pardon upon condition he will serve in the Penitentiary for life —

B. Magoffin

Sentence of Death commuted to Imprisonment for life

Nov: 19 1860