1

His Excellency Samuel Houston Governor in and over the
State of Tennessee.

The undersigned respectfully solicit from the executive
of the state a pardon in behalf of Samuel M^cClure
who is now under sentence of death for the alledged [sic]
Murder of M^cBride.

We make this request because it seems from the record
That the Grand Jurors who found the Bill were
never sworn; an omission which strikes at the very
Root of the invaluable privilege of the trial by
Jury; an omission which has been heretofore again
And again held by our Supreme Court in the
time of Judge Haywood an error sufficient
to induce that court to arrest the judgement of the
inferior court.

And because as is shown by the said record,
one of the petit jurors was an atheist proposed,
And therefore an incompetent juror.
And also as will be [seen?] by the record; because the
evidence shows that Samuel M^cClure was found guilty
of an offence of a higher degree than the
evidence authorised of. it was not a clear case
of a killing in self defense then it amounted to the
degree of Manslaughter - but to no more.

We also ask for a pardon because one of the
Judges of the Supreme Court gave it as his
Opinion that the judgment of the circuit court
should be reversed; and although the other
two judges entertained a different opinion
yet, this conflict between the judges creates
such a doubt about the propriety of the execution
of the defendent [sic] that that doubt of itself