Early Governors' Papers

To his Excellency the Governor of the State of Tennessee

We your petitioners represent to your Excellency that at a late term of the Circuit Court of Davidson County, James H Hindman was found guilty of manslaughter for the killing of William L Simmons, (a Soldier) in the town of Nashville, and that he has been branded in the hand and is also sentencd to imprisonment for the term of six months from the 31^st day of May. We hereby request of your Excellency that the said James H Hindman may be pardond from the imprisonment- To which he is sentenc'd - we are inducd to solicit this pardon for the following reasons- The defd^t kill'd the dec^d at a time when he was making a violent attack upon him with a loaded whip, and that the mortal Blow was not given untill he had retreated a Considerable distance, and had repeatedly - warnd the dec^d to desist, and had repeatedly calld upon the byestanders to take away the dec^d and not untill he had rec^d repeated blows upon diferent parts of his body- and altho from the verdict of the Jury, he was not excusable altogether, as the[y] believe there was no absolute necessaty to kill him to save the life of the defd^t- yet we think as he has sufferd the penalty for manslaughter- the case is such a one that it would be too rigorous to attach additional inprisonment of six months: we further represent that it was with reluctance some of the Jurors -