The governor is the chief executive of the state whose function is to administer the laws of the state. One of the activities used to accomplish this function is the extraditing of criminals. This process may also be referred to as requisition and involves either a request from the Governor of Alabama for the return of criminals who have escaped to other states or a request to the Governor of Alabama for the extradition of criminals found in Alabama. This series consists of correspondence, petitions, and legal documents that give details of the crime, the criminal, and the circumstances of the extradition/requisition request. Murder or larceny were the crimes most often committed by the fugitives. The requests are to or from the governors of Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee. The case involving Bryan Hines and Charles G. Pilcher is particularly unique. In 1845 the state bank in Tuscaloosa foreclosed on the property of Bryan Hines of Greene County after he failed to pay a $72,000 deed of trust. The bank discovered, however, that Hines had taken all of his transportable property (including slaves) and fled the state. Seeking the reward offered for Hines' arrest, Charles G. Pilcher pursued Hines and brought him back from Florida where he swore out a warrant for Pilcher's arrest to prevent him from testifying at Hines' trial. This action resulted in a requisition from Florida's governor to Gov. Joshua L. Martin who in turn issued a warrant for Pilcher's arrest. Although officials in Alabama brought the circumstances of the case to the attention of Martin and the Florida governor, the ploy succeeded in preventing Pilcher from testifying and Hines' case was postponed. With the election of Gov. Chapman as well as a change of administration in Florida, Hines repeated his action with the same results. The series contains considerable correspondence to Chapman regarding the circumstances of Hines' case. Another noteworthy request involves on extradition from Gov. George W. Towns of Georgia for the return of William G. Perryman who was charged with grand larceny for the 1847 theft of a negro woman, a horse, and a bale of cotton.
