United States v. Wilson

United States v. Wilson
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 18, 1833
Decided January 26, 1833
Full case nameUnited States v. George Wilson
Citations32 U.S. 150 (more)
7 Pet. 150; 8 L. Ed. 640; 1833 U.S. LEXIS 340
Holding
A pardon cannot be recognized by a judge if it has not been brought judicially before the court by plea, motion, or otherwise.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Marshall
Associate Justices
William Johnson · Gabriel Duvall
Joseph Story · Smith Thompson
John McLean · Henry Baldwin
Case opinion
MajorityMarshall, joined by unanimous

United States v. Wilson, 32 U.S. (7 Pet.) 150 (1833), was a case in the United States in which the defendant, George Wilson, was convicted of robbing the US Mail, and putting the life of the carrier in danger, in Pennsylvania and sentenced to death.[1] Due to his friends' influence, Wilson was pardoned by Andrew Jackson.

The pardon included the following condition:[2]

...with this express stipulation, that this pardon shall 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, however, refused the pardon. The Supreme Court was thus asked to rule on the case.[1]

The decision was that if the prisoner does not accept the pardon, it is not in effect: "A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered; and if it is rejected, we have discovered no power in this court to force it upon him."[3]

While Wilson refused the pardon, he avoided being hanged unlike his accomplice who was. A report in The National Gazette of Philadelphia dated January 14, 1841 suggests that he was in prison for ten years until released. He received another pardon from President Martin Van Buren, which he accepted.[4][5] The Smithsonian magazine has written that Wilson was hanged as a result of refusing the pardon.[6]

  1. ^ a b Bohm, Robert M., DeathQuest: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital Punishment in the United States, p25
  2. ^ United States v. Wilson (January 26, 1833), Text.
  3. ^ "Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1: United States v. Wilson".
  4. ^ "George Wilson". The National Gazette. January 14, 1841. p. 2. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  5. ^ Smith, Charlie (March 13, 2019). "History's lone refusal of presidential pardon". The Columbian-Progress. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Boissoneault, Lorraine (August 2, 2017). "A Brief History of 10 Essential Presidential Pardons". Smithsonian Magazine.