Muncy Abolition Riot of 1842 - Trial and Pardons

Trial and Pardons

The rioters were indicted in September and went to trial in October, when thirteen of the eighteen rioters were found guilty as charged. The jury's deliberation was quite a long process. Abraham Updegraff was a member of the jury who was the driving force that led to the conviction of the rioters. Updegraff, an ardent abolitionist who was a vital member of the Underground Railroad in Lycoming County, was able to convince his peers that the rioters deserved to be punished. The first jury vote was eleven to one in favor of acquittal, with Updegraff being the lone dissenter finding the men guilty. Updegraff argued that "we have been sworn to try this case according to the law and the evidence presented and that if no contradictory evidence offered by the defendants than we could do nothing more than to convict them." He was also able to make his argument in German, which was the native tongue of three other jurors. The second vote was nine finding the men "guilty" to three in favor of acquittal. A third unanimous vote finally resulted in the conviction of thirteen of the eighteen men charged in the Muncy Abolition Riot.

This conviction was essentially overturned by Governor David R. Porter when he pardoned the rioters several days later. Governor Porter's statement of pardon said: "It is represented to me by highly respected citizens of Lycoming County, that this prosecution was instituted more with a view to the accomplishment of political ends than to serve the cause of law and order."

Porter's pardon message placed the blame for the riot on the abolitionist speaker. Porter stated that the speech was "notoriously offensive to the minds of those to whom they were addressed and were calculated to bring about a breach of the peace." This pardon led to Governor Porter being given the less than flattering nicknames of the "Previous Pardon Porter" and "The Pardoning Governor." Historians believe that Porter pardoned the rioters under rampant political pressure regarding the issue of slavery, as was often the case in the years prior to the Civil War.