Gov. Andy Beshear on June 15 issued posthumous pardons for 43 people convicted of helping enslaved people escape to freedom, calling the move a step toward correcting a historical injustice ahead of Juneteenth.
Beshear said in a press release that the pardons recognize individuals who defied what he described as unjust laws to aid others seeking freedom.
“They are heroes, not criminals,” Beshear stated, adding that the action gives long-overdue recognition to their efforts and restores their names.
Who did Beshear pardon?
The 43 individuals were convicted under laws that punished those who assisted escaping enslaved people, including conductors on the Underground Railroad and others who supported freedom efforts.
Among those pardoned were two in Northern Kentucky: Isaac Johnson, a white man convicted in Kenton County of harboring and aiding escaped slaves, and Julett Miles, a Black woman convicted in Bracken County of the same crimes.
Juneteenth designation in Kentucky
The executive action also designates June 19, 2026, as Juneteenth National Freedom Day in Kentucky, commemorating the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that the state’s 250,000 enslaved Black people were free.
They arrived more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, which had already freed enslaved individuals in Confederate states, such as Texas.
See the full list of those pardoned
The full list of individuals pardoned is included in the governor’s executive order, which is available online.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky governor Beshear pardons 43 who helped enslaved people escape
Reporting by Randy Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Randy Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
