Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Feb.[February] 17, 1841.

An ACT making compensation to John L. Heffington and others, for the apprehension of Aaron and William Todd.
1

Duty of Auditor.

Sec. [Section]1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the Auditor of public accounts be, and he is hereby authorized and required to issue his warrant on the treasury in favor of John L. Heffington, Joseph Reynolds, James Clack, and Reuben Alderson, for the sum of one hundred dollars2 each, for the apprehension of Aaron and William Todd, in the State of Indiana, and conveying them to the jail of Macoupin county for the murder of Larkin Scott.Approved, February 17, 1841.3

1On December 23, 1840, James Parkinson in the House of Representatives presented the petition of John L. Heffington, which the House referred to the Committee on Claims. On December 24, the House instructed the Committee on Claims to also report on the claims of Joseph Reynolds, James Clack, and Reuben Alderson. In response to this petition and instruction, Peter Green of the Committee on Claims introduced HB 147 on January 29, 1841. The House amended the bill by striking out “seventy-five dollars,” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “one hundred dollars.” On February 6, the House passed the bill as amended. On February 10, the Senate passed the bill. On February 17, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 151, 154, 296, 307, 344, 369, 421, 423, 424; Illinois Senate Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 252, 256, 283.

2On January 29, 1841, the House of Representatives amended the bill by striking out “seventy-five dollars” and inserting “one hundred dollars.”
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 296.

3On January 26, 1840, Aaron and William Todd were traveling from Scott County toward Indiana in the company of Larkin Scott, their cousin. While stopping to rest in Macoupin County, Aaron murdered Scott for his money--reported variously as $26, $30, or $31. The perpetrators fled to Indiana, and James C. Clack and other law enforcement officers commenced a large manhunt to secure their capture. Clack and others eventually apprehended the Todds and brought them back to Illinois for trial. On May 5, the trial began before Judge William Thomas. The jury convicted Aaron of murder in the first degree and William of being an accessory to murder after the fact. On May 8, the Judge Thomas sentenced Aaron to death by hanging. He sentenced William Todd to two years in prison, but defense attorneys entered an arrest in judgment in his case, and he subsequently received a new hearing and was cleared and set free. On May 18, Aaron Todd confessed to the murder. On June 2, a crowd estimated at 8,000 witnessed Aaron’s hanging at Carlinville.
The Life and Confession of Aaron Todd, Who Was Executed in the Town of Carlinville, Macoupin County, Illinois, on the Second Day of June 1840, for the Murder of Larkin Scott, Jr. (Springfield, IL: Walters & Weber, 1840), 1-16; History of Macoupin County, Illinois (Philadelphia, PA: Brink, McDonough, 1879), 42.