Report of John Heath on 3 individual petitions (Edward Young, prosecutor; and 2 from...

Report of John Heath on 3 individual petitions (Edward Young, prosecutor; and 2 from John Ashby, the prisoner's father) on behalf of Joseph Ashby, convicted at the 'last' Kent Assizes for the theft of a mare, value 33 guineas, property of Edward Young of Speldhurst, Kent. There are covering letters to the petitions from Richard Jones on behalf of the Earl of Abergavenny (the prisoner's father, John Ashby was a tenant of Henry Earl of Abergavenny at Eridge, Sussex); and Earl Camden. Grounds for clemency: was from an honest and respectable family known to the Earl of Abergavenny, first offence, he had served as a marine aboard a man of war for 6 years (discharged at the conclusion of 'the late war') and was a healthy, strong and able-bodied man of 27 and willing to serve in HM. Forces. Initial sentence: death. Recommendation: no mercy; horse stealing was a 'common offence'. Folios 90-101.