The State of Things

A Pardon Interrupted

WUNC | By Amber Nimocks,

Published March 25, 2011 at 11:44 AM EDT

North Carolina Senator Neal Hunt, a Republican from Wake County, didn't anticipate much reaction from within his party when he proposed a resolution earlier this week to pardon William Holden, a North Carolina governor impeached in 1871. Reconstruction-era Democrats removed Holden from office after the governor sent troops to quell violence spurred by white supremacists in Caswell and Alamance counties.

The incident was known as the Kirk-Holden War. Hunt's move to pardon Holden spurred anonymous opponents to distribute a letter vilifying Holden in the Senate chamber. Now, the resolution has been sent to committee.

The State of Things

Amber Nimocks

Amber Nimocks came to The State of Things in January 2009. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a survivor of 15 years in the newspaper business. As a reporter and editor, her posts have included such exotic locales as her hometown of Fayetteville, Robeson County, Wilmington, Raleigh and Fort Worth, Texas.

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Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

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