The Alabama Constitution of 1819 gives the governor the right to grant pardons, paroles, reprieves, commutations, and to remit fines and forefeitures. (Ala. Consitution, Art. IV, Sect. II [1819]). In 1901, by authority of the Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 124, the attorney general, secretary of state, and state auditor were named members of an advisory Board of Pardons (1901-1935) which submitted written opinions to the governor regarding the granting of pardons, paroles, and revocations. This series consists of records created during the process of application for pardon, parole or remission of fines. Typical records found in this series include statements of sentence, notices of pending paroles, affidavits, correspondence from concerned citizens, judges, lawyers, and the Convict Department relating to a case before the Board of Pardons, copies of court records, petitions supporting the convict's application to the Board of Pardons, and recommendations of the Board of Pardons. These records were created under the Board of Pardons (1901-1935) during the administrations of Governors Reuben Chapman (1847-1849), Henry Watkins Collier (1849-1853), John Anthony Winston (1853-1857), Andrew Barry Moore (1857-1861), John Gill Shorter (1861-1863), Thomas Hill Watts (1863-1865), Lewis E. Parsons (1865), Robert Miller Patton (1865-1868), Robert Burns Lindsay (1868-1870), David Peter Lewis (1872-1874), George Smith Houston (1874-1876), Rufus W. Cobb (1876-1878), Edward Asbury O'Neal (1882-1886), Thomas Seay (1886-1890), William Calvin Oates (1894-1896), Joseph Forney Johnston (1896-1900), William James Samford (1900), William Dorsey Jelks (1900-1903), Dr. Russell McWhorter Cunningham (1905-1907), Braxton Bragg Comer (1907-1911), Emmett O'Neal (1911-1915), and Charles Henderson (1915-1919).
