Letter from John W. Thompson to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus; January 2, 1862

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Letter from John W. Thompson to Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus; January 2, 1862

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People

Adams, Stephen, 1807-1857 Ambler, D. A.Brougher, Charles Albert Ellis, J. B.Jackson, Unknown Pettus, John Jones, 1813-1867 Smith, N. G.Strickler, H. W.Thompson, John W.Wright, D. B.

Events

Crime Crime--Murder Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure--Convicted Criminal Procedure--Pardon Criminal Procedure--Trial

Organizations

Confederate States of America--Congress Courts and Judicial Systems Courts and Judicial Systems--Criminal Juries Mississippi--Department of State Mississippi--State Penitentiary (Jackson)

Occupations

Legal Profession--Lawyers Legislators

Places

Mississippi--Tippah County. Ripley New Mexico Pennsylvania--Philadelphia County. Philadelphia South Carolina--Charleston County. Charleston

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People with disabilities

Vital Statistics

Death

Page 1

[seal]

JOHN W THOMPSON,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
RIPLEY, MISSISSIPPI,

Will Collect and Secure Debts in Northern Mississippi, and remit proceeds with promptness and care.

REFERS TO
Hon S. Adams, U.S. Senator, Miss.,
Hon D. B. Wright, Memb. Congress, Charleston.
Truitt, Bro. & Co., Phila.

Wm. Goodrich & Co., Philadelphia
Chamberlain Miller & Co. ,
D. A. Ambler, Esq

J. B. Ellis, M.D., Ripley, Miss.

Ripley, Miss Jany 2^nd:: 1862

Hon J J Pettus, Gov &c &c

My dear Sir: Allow me again to trouble you One Moment about the case of N. G. Smith, the convict in the Penetentiary of whom I wrote you some 6. weeks ago—He is, My dear Gov^r., improperly confined: The conviction was not justified by the Evidence. I wrote you to this Effect—A few days ago a [?] came to me and asked me to write you I told him I has done so—and I told to him the substance of what I wrote you: That the evidence was chiefly circumstancial; that it was vague; that it did not fully establish the fact that Smith or the other man implicated Either had positively done the Murder, but only raised an indefinate probability that one or the other of the parties had killed the dec^d,—and that I said to you then (in the letter I wrote you) as I now repeat that the finding of the verdict by jury was not justified by the law—But the gent who called to me to write to you insisted that I

Page 2

should write you again—I did so—the letter is a succinct Statement of the facts I first wrote you,— and is signed by the principle men of this place (Ripley)—H. W. Strickler, at my request wrote to you, on a seperate page of the letter his recollection of the case: He was [?]. at the time or acting as [?]—He was our old [?]—For his reputation as a man of probity Esquire of Hon C. A. Brougher Secretary of State—no man stands [?] than Mr. Strickler as a gent—

I will add one fact which may accord to you for the reason why a [?] of [?] was not taken in the case viz—I was, at the time of the trial, too [?] to give the case proper attention and [?] so for a long time,—produced by a broken leg which resulted, as you may remember in my permanent lameness—Capt Jackson, who also defended Mr. Smith was called off soon after as Secty of ~~state of the~~ New Mexico—Hence this case was not attended to as it should have been I thought my statement to you would have been sufficient to procure his release—I hope you will now agree with me that this unfortunate young man should be pardoned—I feel perfectly satisfied it would be right—Such too is the gen^lopinion of all who remember the case— Very Respectfully & truly your friend

John W. Thompson

P.S. Mr. Smith has been confined near 6 years