In fiction, it’s not a terribly uncommon plot device that a duly convicted criminal redeems themselves by performing some act of heroism (say, saving people from a burning building or a sinking ship, despite the great danger to themselves) and as a reward receives a pardon for their crimes. But has this ever happened in real life?
To be clear, I am talking about cases that fulfill the following conditions: (1) someone is convicted of a crime, (2) the conviction is uncontroversial (i.e., there is no doubt about the convict’s guilt), (3) after the conviction, the convict performs an act of heroism, and (4) the governor, president, king, or some other duly invested official grants the convict a pardon specifically because of this act of heroism. So this would exclude cases such as William Hull, who received clemency for heroism carried out before his conviction rather than after it, and who in any case got a commutation rather than a full pardon.
…I can’t find 100% confirmation that the sentence cutting actually took place, another almost identical article said they were recommended for time off but doesn’t confirm that it happened.
Interesting cases, but they don’t seem to be exactly what I’m asking about—both articles discuss reductions in sentences at the discretion of a judge or sheriff rather than political pardons.
I didn’t have to. Pardons come from outside the judicial and law enforcement system, not from within it, and don’t merely reduce one’s sentence but completely nullify its effects. If a judge reconsiders your sentence or the county’s chief jailer decides to let you out early, that’s not a pardon.
Lothar Witzke was a German spy during WWI. He was pardoned by Calvin Coolidge in 1923, partially for his heroism in saving lives during a boiler explosion at Fort Leavenworth. (And partially because of diplomatic pressure from Germany.)
It was raised as a legal argument for the defense during the 1902 court-martial of Harry “Breaker” Morant and his two codefendants, but the British Army did not see things their way. The whole movie Breaker Morant (which takes some liberties with the historical record) is worth watching, but see 53:52 here: - YouTube
In 1957 an airliner crashed on Rikers Island shortly after taking off from LaGuardia. Several dozen inmates were involved in the rescue and recovery operation. According to Wikipedia,
As a result of their actions, of the 57 inmates who assisted with the rescue effort, 30 were released and 16 received a reduction of six months by the N.Y.C. Parole Board. Governor W. Averell Harriman also granted commutation of sentence to 11 men serving definite sentences: two received a six months reduction; one workhouse and eight penitentiary definites became eligible for immediate release.
Years ago, I leafed through a book about the crash but never read it. I think it was the book referred to in the Wiki article, Tiger on a Leash.
Does performing an emergency appendectomy on a fellow inmate (the prison doctor was held up by an ice storm) count as “heroism?” If so, I imagine George Harsh* qualifies.
* Sorry, best article I could find on short notice.
Does performing an emergency appendectomy on a fellow inmate (the prison doctor was held up by an ice storm) count as “heroism?” If so, I imagine George Harsh * qualifies.
* Sorry, best article I could find on short notice.
Hmm… same one I was thinking of. His book suggests something different. he and a bunch of friends decided to rob places “for the fun of it”. They took turns, so someone would always have an alibi. Because of their education and demeanour, they became known as “The Polite Bandit”. Apparently he was the one who shot a clerk, He said, typical inexperienced gunman - as the clerk pulled the trigger he also moved his wrist, so the gun shot down and to the left, hitting George in the leg. He was stupid enough to put his bloody clothes in his laundry hamper, where the maid found them. Since there was no evidence against anyone else, he took the blame for all the robberies.
I read the book because our teacher mentioned seeing an interview with him about 1970. Amazing story. It’s been so long since I read the book - I believe he’d been an assistant to the prison doctor so had a good idea how to do an appendectomy.
