Two January 6 rioters are refusing their pardons!

[thewayne]

Amongst the flurry of presidential orders that were issued Monday after a weird old felon from Florida was sworn in to allegedly lead the USA for the next four years, was a pardon for all of the people convicted of crimes involved in the infamous January 6 riots. This was a campaign promise, though Vance the Veep had stated that the most violent

Comments

[schnee]

You can refuse a pardon? Strange. I'm kinda curious about the case that lead to the US supreme court deciding this - and I would've loved to hear that oral argument.

[thewayne]

The event was in 1833. George Wilson and a partner robbed a U.S. Mail coach and threatened the coach driver. Wilson's partner was hanged. The president at that time granted Wilson a pardon with the stipulation that it would not "extend to any judgment which may be had or obtained against him, in any other case or cases now pending before said court for other offences wherewith he may stand charged."

Wilson refused the pardon, served 10 years in prison, was freed, and subsequently accepted another pardon proffered by another president, Martin Van Buren.

Unfortunately since we're talking about 1833, some details are a little vague. But it is interesting stuff!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Wilson

https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/85821/united-states-v-wilson/

[schnee]

Interesting though. I wonder what possessed him to refuse it in the first case.

[thewayne]

I found this Reddit post, which recounted some newspaper articles that were contemporary to the events:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/zcbmkk/do_we_know_what_happened_to_george_wilson_the/

It doesn't answer anything definitively, but it does provide more information. It boils down to: we really don't know exactly why he refused the pardon, there's just no clear-cut information. It would appear he was forced into becoming a highwayman, which lead to robbing the mail coach of some $8300, which in 1830 was a considerable amount. He confessed, the ringleader was executed, he was sentenced to death, was pardoned by the President (it was a federal crime) and refused it, and subsequently served 10 years at hard labor.

[howlin_wolf_66]

Good on them! I love it when people can admit they were in error, and change their minds. :-)

[thewayne]

Agreed! An honorable standing.