Series 328
BOARD OF PARDONS [754]
PRISONER'S PARDON APPLICATION CASE FILES, 1892-1949.
27 cu. ft., and 53 microfilm reels
DESCRIPTION: Case files consist of letters to the Governor, a formal application for a pardon, petitions and letters of support from the public and officials connected to the case and during the first 40 years, case files often contained court transcripts, biographical sketches, prison evaluations and a wide variety of related documentation. Cases illustrate the process of review by the board of cases of prisoners incarcerated in the Utah prison system to determine if they should be released before their regular sentence ended. Documents contain personal data about the prisoner, criminal activity, family background and evaluation of the prisoner's adjustment to incarceration.
In Utah, the release of a convicted felon from the prison system began with an application made by the prisoner. During the territorial period applications were made directly to the Governor, usually in the form of a letter asking for a pardon or release from prison. With the creation of the Board of Pardons by the state constitution in 1896, the process of obtaining some form of release from prison became more formalized. The filing of an application with the Board initiated the process of scheduling a hearing, evaluating the individual prisoner, and either approving or denying the application for release.
ARRANGEMENT: The part of the series created after 1896 is arranged by case number. The first two boxes, pre-1896 or undated, are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the prisoner.
RESEARCH NOTE: Variations occur in the way the case numbers were assigned at different times, affecting the way in which the series might be searched. Identical case numbers were sometimes assigned to several different prisoners, particularly during the earlier period. These are sometimes identified as cases 231A, 231B, 231C, etc., and this does not indicate any close relationship between any of the cases. One particular individual might have several cases in the series; while others--again mostly in the early part of the files--may have only one case in which was placed several applications arising out of the same offense, or applications arising out of different offenses committed by the person. Some prisoners used an alias on some applications and a real name on others.
The numerical files begin with case #28, then jump to #31. The assignment of case numbers to applications for release, date from the time the Board of Pardons was created in 1896. Cases numbered 1-27 and 29-30 might be part of those cases organized alphabetically; they may also not have survived. The files organized alphabetically generally contain cases filed before 1896, but some unnumbered cases from later years were also placed in these boxes.
RELATED RECORDS: Letters requesting pardon and accompanying documentation were filed in series 241, TERRITORIAL EXECUTIVE PAPERS , before 1892. After 1948, similar documentation is included in series 80134, CRIMINAL HISTORY CASE FILES. From 1896 through 1915, pardons actually granted were recorded in PARDONS GRANTED RECORD BOOK, series 329. MINUTES of the Board of Pardons, series 332, contains summaries of the hearings of each of the cases for which application was made. Series 330, SCHEDULE OF PROCEEDINGS, was a schedule kept until 1907, which summarized the results and schedules of each hearing. CORRESPONDENCE of the Board of Pardons, series 80460, contains related correspondence for many of the individual cases in this series from 1914. MINUTES of the Board of Pardons, series 332, contain applications for pardons for the year 1949.
FINDING AIDS: An index to the names of prisoners, case file numbers (if available) and the reel of film on which the case file appears is available. Using the index is the best way to find cases of individual prisoners. When a case number is not listed by a name in the index, this indicates that the file may be located in one of the boxes with the alphabetical arrangement. Two old handwritten indexes to the numbered cases are found in box 26.
PROCESSING NOTE: The cases filed alphabetically had no discernible order, so an alphabetical arrangement was imposed on them. Archival processing was completed in 1988 by Brent Brinkerhoff. The case files were microfilmed in November 1996 and the series updated by David Clark.
Missing cases 28, and 68 through 108 were located in 2000 and the series updated again by A. C. Cone.
GAPS IN THE SERIES: A few individual cases were removed before processing was completed and were not located. Cases were recorded up to #8099 and don't resume again until #9000. This does not reflect a break in the series, but rather a clerical error.
CONTAINER LIST
| Reel |
Box |
Description |
| 1 |
1 |
A-Haworth |
| 2 |
1 |
Hayes-K |
| 2 |
2 |
K-McPherson |
| 3 |
2 |
Mecca-Williams |
| 4 |
2 |
Wilson-Z |
| 4 |
3 |
28-67 |
| 53 |
27 |
68-108 |
| 5 |
3 |
109-177 |
| 6 |
3 |
178-206 |
| 6 |
4 |
207-255 |
| 7 |
4 |
256-325 |
| 8 |
4 |
326-349 |
| 9 |
5 |
350-409 |
| 10 |
5 |
409-479 |
| 11 |
6 |
480-551 |
| 12 |
6 |
552-615 |
| 13 |
7 |
616-710 |
| 14 |
7 |
711-795 |
| 15 |
8 |
796-904 |
| 16 |
8 |
905-967 |
| 17 |
9 |
968-1105 |
| 18 |
9 |
1106-1208 |
| 18 |
10 |
1209-1277 |
| 19 |
10 |
1278-1433 |
| 20 |
10 |
1434-1459 |
| 20 |
11 |
1460-1612 |
| 21 |
11 |
1613-1772 |
| 22 |
12 |
1774-2000 |
| 23 |
12 |
2001-2092 |
| 23 |
13 |
2093-2250 |
| 24 |
13 |
2251-2428 |
| 25 |
14 |
2429-2647 |
| 26 |
14 |
2648-2736 |
| 26 |
15 |
2737-2915 |
| 27 |
15 |
2916-3143 |
| 27 |
16 |
3144-3200 |
| 28 |
16 |
3201-3430 |
| 29 |
16 |
3431-3447 |
| 29 |
17 |
3448-3559 |
| 30 |
17 |
3560-3671 |
| 30 |
18 |
3672-3729 |
| 31 |
18 |
3730-3871 |
| 32 |
18 |
3868-3948 |
| 32 |
19 |
3949-4006 |
| 33 |
19 |
4007-4173 |
| 34 |
19 |
4174-4247 |
| 34 |
20 |
4248-4439 |
| 35 |
20 |
4440-4675 |
| 36 |
20 |
4676-4881 |
| 37 |
20 |
4882-4899 |
| 37 |
21 |
4890-5089 |
| 38 |
21 |
5086-5256 |
| 39 |
21 |
5257-5406 |
| 40 |
21 |
5407-5466 |
| 40 |
22 |
5467-5599 |
| 41 |
22 |
5600-5799 |
| 42 |
22 |
5800-6008 |
| 43 |
22 |
6009-6112 |
| 43 |
23 |
6113-6218 |
| 44 |
23 |
6218-6476 |
| 45 |
23 |
6477-6741 |
| 46 |
23 |
6742-6898 |
| 47 |
24 |
6899-7146 |
| 48 |
24 |
7147-7423 |
| 49 |
24 |
7424-7667 |
| 50 |
25 |
7668-7928 |
| 51 |
25 |
7929-9131 |
| 52 |
25 |
9132-9423 |
| 52 |
26 |
Handwritten Name Index |
| none |
26 |
Handwritten Name Index |
