Petition of George W. Knadler and Others to William H. Bissell, 18 August 18571
To his Excellency William H. Bissell Govenor of the State of IllinoisYour petitioners Jurors who as grand Jury men found the bill of indictment and as
Petty Jury men found moses Loe guilty of Manslaughter at the March term of the circuit court of Dewitt county for the year 1853— said Loe having spent more than half his term of 8 years and believing
that the ends of justice are fully met would respectfully request your excellency
to exercise that power vested in you and pardo him for the remainder of the term–2
G. W. KnadlerB W MonsonWilliam NealFrancis M. JeffreyWilliam SumersWilliam EastJames Spratt[ certification
]
08/18/1857
08/18/1857
| State of Illinois | } |
| Dewitt County | ss.[scilicet] |
I Robert Lewis clerk of the Circuit Court in and for the County of Dewitt and State of Illinois
do hereby certify the persons whose names appear subscribed above were of the Jury
that convicted Moses Loe at the May Term of the Circuit Court of said County of Manslaughter
[as appears?] of Record in my office.
[ endorsement
]
I defended Moses Loe in the case mentioned, and, with the exception of the assistance
of a younger man at the trial, who volunteered merely to try his hand, the whole defence rested on me–4 I know Loe to have been a very young man at the time of the offence, and that more than half his time, (originally eight years) has elapsed since his
conviction– As to his previous character, or his conduct in the State prison I know nothing; but willing to trust the numerous and very respectable gentlemen
who speak to these points, I cheerfully join the request that he be pardoned for the
remainder of his term–
A. Lincoln5–<Page 2>
2Moses Loe was indicted in September 1852 for manslaughter for stabbing James Gray
in the neck, instantly killing him. Loe retained Abraham Lincoln for his attorney
and requested a change of venue from Sangamon County to DeWitt County, which was granted. Loe pleaded self-defense, arguing that he and
Gray had planned to meet and fight with each other at the time and place where and
when the killing afterwards occurred. Nevertheless, a jury found Loe guilty of manslaughter
and sentenced him to eight years in the Illinois State Penitentiary. This petition was successful and Loe was pardoned and released from prison by Governor
William H. Bissell on August 31, 1857.
Indictment, Document ID: 121633; Affidavit for change of venue, Document ID: 54856;
Affidavit, Document ID: 54855, People v. Loe, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=135583; Daniel W. Stowell et al., eds., The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008), 2:321-39.
4Lincoln was the sole attorney for the defendant in the court record. The younger man
who assisted Lincoln has not been identified
People v. Loe, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=135583.
Handwritten Document Signed, 2 page(s), Illinois State Archives (Springfield, IL).