On May 1, 1830, George Wilson and James Porter were convicted of mail robbery and putting the life of the carrier in jeopardy. On May 27, 1830, they were sentenced to death for their crimes. Porter was executed in pursuance of the sentence, but on the 14th of June 1830, the president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, granted a pardon to George Wilson. The surprising thing about this story is that Wilson refused the pardon!
I heard this story a long time ago, but I was skeptical of sharing it. I had not previously been able to confirm the stories legitimacy, but I recently found the story again on CNN’s website. The Wilson pardon was number one in a 2009 article listing the eleven most notable presidential pardons. When I read the CNN article I noticed something that I had not heard before. After much legal back-and-forth, Wilson’s case came before the Supreme Court, which ruled that since the pardon was a bit of property, there was no legal way to force Wilson to accept it. They tried to force the pardon on Wilson!
You may be thinking that there is no way that this could ever happen, and I will admit that it does not make sense, but people reject pardon on a regular basis. God has offered us a pardon from the terrible death that sin will bring to us, yet many reject it. If we die in our sins we face a terrible fate, and contrary to the belief of some, God will not force a pardon on us. I’m sure that many have heard the story of George Wilson, and wondered why he refused the president’s pardon. I hope no one will look back on your life and wonder why you refused God’s.
in light of His word 