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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 31st 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 defdt kill'd the decd 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 decd to desist, and had repeatedly calld upon the byestanders to take away the decd and not untill he had recd 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 defdt- 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 -
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agreed to a verdict of guilty as it approachd so near to a case of excuseable killing in self defence.
Alpha Kingsley William Davis Jason Thompson J. A Mennifee Lewis Speace Senr. John C Hicks John Haynes Boyd McNairy Harris Green W. J. Johnson Elmore Douglass Alfred Flornoy Cullin Edwards John D Venable Charles Hartly Edmund Hewlett Samuel Long John Folwell J. P Downes John [Marey? Marly?] T. J. Ayer Samuel Houston Robert Armstrong
James Trimble council for the defdt I concur in this petition, because I believe from the evidence it was a case of excuseable Homicide in self defence -
Robert [?] Adams- one of the council for the Prisoner- I subscribe to this petition because I believe that any other man ^person would have acted in the same manner under Similar Circumstances-
In addition to the above reasons I add my signature because I hope that a youth whose habits can scarcely be considerd confirmd, may be reclaimd if restord to the Bosom of his parent before his Spirits are too much Broken.
I think he ought certainly to be pardond Felix Grundy Council [?]
For the above reasons I subscribe this petition G W Gibby
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Secretary of State's office
Knoxville 30th July 1817.
I certify the foregoing to be a true copy of a petition filed in my office together with the Subscribers thereto
Given under my hand
Wm Alexander Secretary of State
