The files also reveal a different set of moral values. Other men were imprisoned for fornication besides the blacksmith. But whereas the residents of Loa claimed he had intended no harm, another man's was crime was described as "bastarding." Graeske of East Prussia worked at the Salt Lake City Brewing Co. in 1916 when convicted of "carnal knowledge." His petitioners said they believed he had not adequately been taught "the importance of virtue."

It can be tough to be pardoned for murder, but Trefle Doutre had a grand jury request his release after having only served three years of an 18-year sentence. The reason given: He was more than 50 years old and it was considered inhumane for him to serve any longer at his advanced age.

Among the case files is an application for the pardon of Joe Hill (aka Joseph Hillstrom), the "Wobblie" activist for the Industrial Workers of the World who was convicted of murder in a dubitable trial and executed by firing squad at the state prison on Nov. 19, 1915. Supporters considered him a martyr of the labor movement, and the tribute "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night" was turned into a popular folk song that was even performed by Joan Baez at Woodstock. The lengthy case file includes 62 pages of documents.

"Since these records have long been indexed by name, they often provided a starting point for research into historical crimes or criminals by including important details such as dates and places. By making them available online, we hope to reach more people interested in researching such materials," said Gina Strack, digital coordinator for the Utah State Archives.

Archivist Rod Swaner said the collection is also popular with family history researchers. People like to look up names to find more about the lives of their relatives. In the past, researchers had to pay fees to print items or gain access to digitized copies. Now the online database makes all this information easily accessible and free, he said.

Many of the stories are downright heartbreaking. One man imprisoned for fraud requested a pardon to be with his ailing wife in a Los Angeles hospital. Sometimes neighbors wrote on behalf of teenagers with impoverished parents who relied on their children for survival. In most cases, the files don't include any replies from the state, leaving the reader to wonder what happened.

The prisoners' applications can be found at historyresearch.utah.gov/digital/328.htm. The database consists more than 54,000 digital images scanned from 53 microfilm rolls representing 27 cubic feet of paper records. Following digitization, archivists spent another six months preparing the case files for online display.

---

E-mail: akirk@desnews.com