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Partly-printed DS, one page, 8 x 10, September 12, 1851. President Fillmore authorizes and directs the "acting Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to the pardon granted to James Clements." Boldly signed at the conclusion in ink by President Millard Fillmore. In fine condition, with old mounting residue along the left edge.
According to Bill Lofquist of the The Federal Death Penalty Project, Thomas Benson, Edward F. Douglass, and James Clements were 'among the crew of the Glen, a large cargo ship that operated between Maine and San Francisco, sailing around the tip of South America. After delivering a cargo of lumber to San Francisco in 1849, the ship returned with a cargo of copper picked up in Chile; departing there on August 29, 1850. While still off the South American coast during the early morning of September 17, the Glen’s second mate, Asa Havens, was shot and killed. The killers—Benson, Douglass, and Clements—then confronted Captain Small with their plan to take over the ship. Small was able to escape and, with the aid of other sailors, was able to capture the mutineers. Small then sailed into Valparaiso, Chile, and turned over the captured men. The prisoners were returned to New York for trial for the murder of Asa Havens on the high seas. Convicted in the Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York, Edward F. Douglass and Thomas Benson were hanged in New York on July, 25, 1851. James S. Clements, convicted at the same time and for the same offense, was pardoned.'
The case is also mentioned by Stuart Banner in The Death Penalty: An American History: 'James Clements, sentenced to death in New York's federal court for murder on the high seas, was pardoned in 1851 by President Millard Fillmore because of doubts as to his guilt. Shortly before the pardon, Fillmore’s treasury secretary received a note from A. Oakey Hall, the state district attorney in New York City, explaining that although the state’s governor wished to advise granting a pardon, 'he can do nothing publicly because of the example: having 3 respited scoundrels on our hands.''
From the Collection of Paul K. Carr, former UACC President and Noted Expert.
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