From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from W. E. Jolley to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, addressing a letter he sent on June 9, 1871 concerning an incident where a county sheriff would not receive a prisoner.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Judge Jason Niles of the 13th District to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, giving the names of persons who were sentenced to the Mississippi State Penitentiary during the last term. Included is a note from H. F. Hewson, Alcorn's private secretary, giving a summary of Niles's letter.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Thomas J. Norton to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting assistance in getting a pardon from the Governor of Indiana, Conrad Baker. Norton has been in the Indiana penitentiary since 1865, his sentence having been extended after his recapture following his escape in 1867.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Petition from White and Chalmers to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting executive clemency for Thomas Ward, who has served four years of a five-year sentence on grand larceny. (Petition not included)

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Anderson Rutland to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, recounting the events of how he was first imprisoned during the Civil War for horse theft and how he came to be released, only to be rearrested. He is asking Alcorn to review his case to see if his second arrest was legal in hopes that Alcorn would order his release.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection.Letter from Sheriff U. Ozanne to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn's Private Secretary H. F. Hewson, confirming his receipt of Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn granting a delay in carrying out the hanging of Solomon Pitts from January 27th, 1871 to February 17th, 1871.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from John Gillis to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting a pardon for Anderson Rutland, who has spent nearly three years in the penitentiary. The request is made due to the indigency of him and his family.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Petition from Wm. Bolton and several residents of Washington County, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, seeking a pardon for Woodson Baldwin, an African-American man, who was convicted for attempted theft and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and a $200 fine.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from M. B. McMicken at Canton, Mississippi, to P. B. Starke, giving Starke details of the case of Robert Brown, an African American man incarcerated in the Mississippi State Penitentiary, who was accused of murder and defended by McMicken and Henry S. Foote. McMicken is requesting a pardon to be given to Robert Brown.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Thomas McCarren and Geo. B. McNamara to R. J. Mathews. A reply written to Mathews concerning the case of William Hanlan (also known as Michael Hanlan). The letter states that Hanlan and the man whom he was charged with shooting served in the same military unit stationed in Columbus, Mississippi, in August of 1867. Both men were drunk from liquor and got into a quarrel. Hanlan went to his tent to get his rifle and shot Beau, another man, and was then turned over to local authorities in Columbus.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Damaged, incomplete letter from someone in the Territory of Denver, Colorado, written to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting a pardon for the son of the sender, who is incarcerated in the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Jackson, Mississippi.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. 2 -sided letter between Z. A. Philips and Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn. One side is from Alcorn, the other from Philips. Philips writes to Alcorn giving him the reason for the imprisonment of Ann Parker, an African-American woman, who was convicted of arson and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary in Jackson, MIssissippi. Alcorn writes back to Philips that after a conversation with Parker, he has decided to grant her a pardon due to her age and frail condition.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from W. H. Fitz-Gerald at Charleston, Mississippi, to P. B. Starke, recounting the case of an African American man named Henry White who was convicted of rape in May 1867. Fitz-Gerald claims that White and the woman whom he was charged with raping had previously had consensual intercourse except for the night in question, where he forced himself upon her against her will. Fitz-Gerald states that although White is legally guilty, Fitz-Gerald believes that there were "extenuating circumstances" and that the sentence imposed was too great.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Z. A. Philips, superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Jackson, Mississippi, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, requesting the early release of Samuel Harmon, who was convicted in 1868 of larceny. Included is a note from H. F. Hewson, private secretary to Alcorn, giving an executive summary of Philips's letter.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Superintendent of Mississippi State Penitentiary Z. A. Philips to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, recommending that George Lewis, an African American man who is currently incarcerated at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, be given a pardon on the grounds that Lewis still professes his innocence. Lewis is also suffering from a gunshot wound received during his service in the United States Army.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Judge Wade H. Hough of the 13th District in Louisiana, containing a certified copy of a judgement of the conviction of William E. Brewer from the State of Louisiana. Brewer was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years of hard labor in the Louisiana Penitentiary in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was also fined $1 and is liable for the cost of prosecution.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Damaged letter from Judge W. W. Chisolm to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, asking Alcorn to release R. H. Breckinridge from prison after having been convicted of the murder of Dr. Burton in Meridian, Mississippi. The letter includes notes from F. M. Poole, clerk of the circuit court of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, and L. H. Hampton, both of who sign their support for Chisolm's request.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Z. A. Philips, superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, reporting that the conduct of Henry Johnson, an African American man incarcerated in the penitentiary. has been good since his incarceration.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from Z. A. Philips, superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, responding to an inquiry from Alcorn concerning the conduct of inmate Robert Easton, who was convicted of larceny in Warren County, Mississippi, in May 1866. Philips reports that Easton's conduct has been good during his incarceration. (This letter may be in regards to the same inmate mentioned in mdah_786-971-01-16).

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from H. Murphy to R. J. Mathews, recounting the details of the case of Isham Walton, whom he defended, and stating that Walton was convicted of assault with the intent to kill. According to witnesses, Walton was said to have been holding a gun carelessly when it went off by accident. Murphy states that he believes the punishment for Walton was unjust. There is also a statement at the end of this letter from W. L. Walton pleading for the release of Isham Walton.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from J. M. Pearson at Carrollton, Mississippi, to R. J. Mathews, concerning the 1868 case of an African American man named Allison Bibb, as Pearson was assigned to defend Bibb. Pearson makes the case for Bibb to receive clemency.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Executive document from Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, containing his response to the petition for executive clemency for Creed Taylor, in which he commutes Taylor's sentence of death to life imprisonment. (This document is a response to mdah_786-971-05-10).

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter from William Compton, superintendent of the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum, to Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn, stating that Dennis Alrick, a prisoner in the Mississippi State Penitentiary who was transferred to the asylum, has suffered mental anguish due to his conviction and Compton has offered clemency as a mode of treatment. Compton requests a pardon for Alrick from Governor Alcorn. Enclosed is a copy, by Compton, of a letter from physician T. J. Mitchell certifying that, in Mitchell's opinion, Alrick is "insane".

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter to R. J. Mathews, responding to Mathews's request for information concerning the Anderson Beacham case, in which Beacham was charged with arson for burning the home of Wash Ford. The letter goes on to say that Beacham was convicted upon circumstantial evidence.

From the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Governor Alcorn Collection. Letter to R. J. Mathews, stating that the author could not recall the specifics of the case against Eliza Davis, other than she was charged with stealing several items amounting to $6.00 in value.