Refusing the Pardon

Many years ago in an American Frontier town, a young man shot and killed a friend in a fit of rage. The act was totally out of character. The fellow had no previous criminal record. He as an upstanding citizen in the community and he was well liked throughout the county.

The judge sentenced him to death by hanging. Shocked, his family and friends circulated a petition throughout the state. Thousands of people signed it. They appealed to the governor to pardon the young man.

The public response touched the governor’s heart. After giving the case considerable thought, he decided to pardon the young man.

But to test his sincerity, the governor planned to visit him personally with the pardon. Disguised as a clergyman, the official proceeded to the prison with the document in hand. The prisoner, however, refused to see him.

The warden urged the young man to at least allow a brief visit, but he vehemently refused. “Why should I see any clergyman?” He had no time for religion. A couple hours later the warden visited the prisoner and shared with him the fact that the governor had come with the pardon.

In a state of panic, the young man wrote the governor a letter of apology. The official simply wrote on the top of the letter, “No longer interested in this case.” and sent it back. When the authorities finally hanged the prisoner, someone asked him, “Do you have anything to say.”

His response was brief but telling. “I am not being hanged for my crime. The governor pardoned it. I am being hanged because I refused the pardon.”