To his Excellency Govenor Magoffin

The undersigned citizens of Madison county would respectfully represent that they were present at the trial of L D King at the present term of the Madison circuit court for the Killing of Jas Lackey.

It appeared in the Commonwealths evidence as well as that of the defence that the killing took place under these circumstances. Lackey was somewhat drinking though not fully drunk & went along the road avowing that he intended to have sexual intercourse with a woman before he left Madison county & he was then going in a direction that lead him to the county line in about two miles or a little over & he came where Kings wife & a lady by the name of Irvin at or near a spring about forty steps from Kings house & thereupon unbuttoned his pants & drew his privates & avowed his intention to have sexual intercourse with Mrs King at all hazards — Mrs King was frightened & her husband not at home & she ran for protection to the house of two gentlemen by the name of [Froan] which was only some sixty or eighty yards from her own and called out

from the fence for the Mr Froans to come & protect ^her^ crying & excited tole what had occurred & her husband happened to be at Froans & heard her & sprang up excitedly and ran to where Lackey had insulted his wife and found Lackey still there and struck him once or twice with his fist and once or twice with a rock form the effects of which blows Lackey died. During the trial it was the unanimous opinion of all but the prosecutors & relations of Lackey that King ought to be acquitted & had done no more than he ought to have done & than we would have We therefore ask your excellency to Pardon King forthwith before he leaves the Madison Jail It appeared by all the testimony that Mrs King was a modest well behaved woman chaste woman of good reputation in all respects