John Gordon

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Death and Executed
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1843
Year Convicted:	1844
Year Cleared:	2011
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Rhode Island
County or Region of Crime:	Providence
City of Crime:	Cranston
Result:	Pardoned Posthumously After Execution
Summary of Case:	"John Gordon was wrongly convicted in 1844 of the December 31, 1843 murder of Amasa Sprague, a Cranston textile factory owner. After his conviction by a jury Gordon was sentenced to death, and executed by hanging on February 14, 1845. In a stunning display of judicial prejudice against a defendant's ethnic background, Chief Justice Job Durfee instructed the jury to give more credibility to Yankee witnesses than Irish witnesses. John Gordon's brother was released after having a hung jury (8 for acquittal, 4 to convict), and his father was released after having two hung jury's (9 for acquittal and 3 for conviction). John Gordon was the last man executed in Rhode Island, and his case contributed to the abolishment of the death penalty in Rhode Island in 1852. In 1993, Charles and Tess Hoffmann, professors of English at, respectively, the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, wrote a compelling book about the murder, Brotherly Love. I require it in my Rhode Island history course at URI. The authors concluded: "From the perspective of nearly a century and a half, it is apparent that John Gordon was a victim of a widespread prejudice against the Irish." Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee granted Gordon a full posthumous pardon on June 29, 2011."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee granted Gordon a full posthumous pardon on June 29, 2011."
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Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
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Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"RI governor pardons Irish man hanged in 1845, By Erika Niedowski (Associated Press), Boston Globe, June 6, 2011"
Information Location 1:	http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2011/06/29/ri_governor_pardons_irish_man_hanged_in_1845/
Information Source 2:	"Not all Americans in tune with Ashcroft's blood lust, Froma Harrop, Seattle Times, July 23, 2003, p. B6"
Information Location 2:	http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2001211178_harrop23.html
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Book About Case:	"Brotherly Love, Charles and Tess Hoffmann, 1993"
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John Gordon

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Death and Executed

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1843

Year Convicted:

1844

Year Cleared:

2011

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Rhode Island

County or Region of Crime:

Providence

City of Crime:

Cranston

Result:

Pardoned Posthumously After Execution

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee granted Gordon a full posthumous pardon on June 29, 2011."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"RI governor pardons Irish man hanged in 1845, By Erika Niedowski (Associated Press), Boston Globe, June 6, 2011"

Information Location 1:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2011/06/29/ri_governor_pardons_irish_man_hanged_in_1845/

Information Source 2:

"Not all Americans in tune with Ashcroft's blood lust, Froma Harrop, Seattle Times, July 23, 2003, p. B6"

Information Location 2:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2001211178_harrop23.html

Information Source 3:

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Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

"Brotherly Love, Charles and Tess Hoffmann, 1993"

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: