1. On 2 July 1799, Benjamin Holmes of Argyle, N.Y., was convicted in Troy, for the murder of Abraham Francis of Saratoga. His sentence of execution by hanging was to be carried out on 5 Aug. 1799. On 13 Feb. 1798, Francis witnessed Holmes beating Holmes’s step-child with an ox-goad (cattle prod). When Francis confronted Holmes, he was stabbed three times. Initially, Holmes was only charged with attempted murder, but on 15 Mar., Francis died, leaving a wife and five children, and the charge became murder. Newspaper accounts noted “… it is hoped he will suffer that punishment which the atrocity of the crime deserves.” See Farmer’s Oracle (Troy), 20 Feb.; Porcupine’s Gazette (Philadelphia), 23 Feb.; Carey’s United States’ Recorder (Philadelphia), 17 Mar. 1798; Mercantile Advertiser (New York), 8 July 1799.

On 22 Feb. 1800, the state legislature passed “An Act directing the execution of Benjamin Holmes convicted of murder.” The day of execution was set for “the last Friday in March next, between the hours of twelve and three in the afternoon.” N.Y. State Laws, 23rd sess. (1800), 11.

2. The New-York Gazette printed “fifth” instead of “tenth”.

3. On 1 Oct. 1799, John Pastano, a Portuguese immigrant, crept up on his landlady, Mary-Ann De Castro, and stabbed her repeatedly in the neck. Pastano, who had recently arrived from Philadelphia, boarded with De Castro and her husband, Benjamin, on Henry Street. The De Castros, who were of Portuguese descent, labored as “segar” makers, and helped their fellow countryman find local work with a wine merchant. However, Pastano apparently suffered from delusions; he believed that the De Castros suspected him of being a thief and thought he heard them plotting against him. The murder was witnessed by another boarder, whom Pastano also attacked before fleeing the house and heading toward the Tea Water Pump in Chatham Street. When captured, he sputtered “Why you catch me? Me not do it.” Initial reports of the crime referred to the De Castros as Castiller and Pastano as Pastiller. Commercial Advertiser, and Mercantile Advertiser (both New York), 3 Oct.; Spectator (New York), 5 Oct.; American Mercury (Hartford), 10 Oct.; and Norwich Packet, 10 Oct. 1799.

Pastano stood trial on 19 Nov. 1799, at the Circuit Court of New York, with Jacob Radcliff and Richard Harison, serving on the court bench. Cadwallader D. Colden served as the prosecuting attorney, and Henry Brockholst Livingston, JJ’s brother-in-law, served as the court-appointed defense attorney. Livingston was familiar with the Spanish and Portuguese languages from his service in Spain as JJ’s secretary during his Spanish mission. The translator (for Pastano spoke little English) was Gershom Mendes Seixas (1745–1816), Hazzan or cantor of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardic synagogue.

The case seemed open and shut. The prosecution read to the jury Blackstone’s definition of murder. Witnesses testified to the murder. Livingston’s strategy was not to deny his client’s guilt, but to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, a “very ingenious defense” according to the Weekly Museum (New York), 23 Nov. 1799. Livingston produced witnesses who testified that Pastano had spoken to them about his fears and delusions. The jury found Pastano guilty, in part because there was no insanity defense at the time under New York state law. However, the testimony of Livingston’s witnesses raised enough doubt to have the case reviewed by JJ, and sent to the legislature. The trial was covered in many papers. For the fullest accounts, see Commercial Advertiser (New York), 20 Nov., and the New-York Gazette, 25 Nov. 1799.

On 14 Feb. 1800, the Legislature passed “An Act to pardon John Pastano for murder” with the stipulation that “… he shall be immediately sent to Madeira where his connections reside”. N.Y. State Laws, 23rd sess. (1800), 4–5; Norwich Courier, 10 Mar. 1800.

4. See JJ to Abner Stone, 25 July 1799, LbkC, N: Governor’s Lbk. 2, (EJ: 03290); JJ to James Morris, 4 Dec. 1799, C, NHi: Jay (EJ: 02960); and 10 Dec. 1799, LbkC, N: Governor’s Lbk. 2, (EJ: 03300). For more on JJ’s granting of pardons to convicted criminals, see the editorial note “Crime and Punishment in Federalist New York,” JJSP description begins Elizabeth M. Nuxoll et al., eds., The Selected Papers of John Jay (6 vols. to date; Charlottesville, Va., 2010–) description ends , 6: 472–80.