HARRISBURG -- A leader of the legendary Molly Maguires was hanged for murder 130 years ago, and now his great-great-granddaughter is asking the state to pardon him in "an act of grace."

Bradley C Bower, Associated Press Zenos Frudakis inspects his sculpture of a convicted coal miner headed to the gallows, which is on temporary display in front of the state Capitol. It is destined for a Molly Maguire historical park in Schuylkill County.

The Carbon County district attorney, though, argues it would be a travesty of justice to second-guess an 1877 court decision that relied on the due-process standards that were in effect at that time.

The state Board of Pardons heard from both sides during a hearing yesterday but did not issue a decision in the case of John "Yellow Jack" Donahoe. Its next meeting is scheduled for April 6.

The case was initiated by Margaret Juran of Dauphin County, who wants to clear her ancestor's name. She was joined yesterday by her father, her husband and nine members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish-Catholic fraternal organization whose members wore orange-white-and-green sashes, the colors of Ireland's flag.

Philadelphia-area sculptor Zenos Frudakis came for support, too, along with a 7-foot sculpture he had made of a hooded man ready for the gallows.

Mr. Frudakis, whose father was injured in a mine accident almost a century ago, said the figure represents "Yellow Jack" and 19 other coal miners hanged in the late 1800s for their alleged involvement in the Molly Maguires, a secret society of Irish coal workers notorious for violence and intimidation against mine owners who they believed were unfair and unkind to workers.

Both art and artist stood in the rain on the steps of the Capitol yesterday, while the Pardons Board met inside.

Inside, Mrs. Juran did not offer evidence of her ancestor's innocence, but instead argued that Mr. Donahoe was denied due process. He was not judged by a jury of peers, she claimed, and prosecutors had worked for railroad companies that ran Pennsylvania coal mines.

The case was tainted by pre-trial publicity, prosecution witnesses may have been intimidated and four jury members did not speak fluent English, argued Mrs. Juran and her attorney, Grainger Bowman.

Mr. Donahoe was hanged in a small Carbon County town that was then called Mauch Chunk -- and is now called Jim Thorpe -- for the 1871 shooting death of Morgan Powell, of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co.

Mrs. Juran's family didn't talk much about that when she was young, but she was curious and learned about it on her own.

"I was intrigued. I wanted to know the truth, I wanted to know why, and I found out: There was an injustice," she testified yesterday.

"Five generations of the Donahoe family have endured pain, suffering, ill truths and hardships that will not be tolerated any longer," Mrs. Juran said.

"John Donahoe stood up for what he believed in. ... He was instrumental in forming a camaraderie of men, a brotherhood of men working together to improve working conditions, secure employment and to implement a fair wage scale. ... His dream is our reality today."

There was reasonable doubt in the case, she said, and a pardon would right a wrong and bring her family peace.

Carbon County District Attorney Gary Dobias, though, warned that the pardon could affect the integrity of the justice system. It is improper, he said, to judge due process in a 130-year-old case based on today's standards.

"You cannot hold a trial from the 1870s to the fair-trial standards of today, just as I hope the trials of today won't be held to the fair-trial standards that will exist 100 years from now," he said.

"The jury verdict was supported by credible evidence and testimony and it met the due process requirements as they existed in the 1870s," Mr. Dobias said. "I'm asking the board not to rewrite history."

A pardon for Mr. Donahoe could open the door to countless other pardon reviews, he said.

Pardons are meant to show mercy to petty criminals who admit guilt and provide compelling evidence for wiping their records clean. Mr. Donahoe never did that, and he cannot be shown mercy anyway, because he is dead, Mr. Dobias said.

"I don't think anyone knows or is saying Mr. Donahoe is innocent. At best, they assert he didn't get a fair trial and, if that is true, a pardon is not the remedy," Mr. Dobias said.

Mr. Bowman, though, said it is the only venue available and that a pardon is appropriate, even 130 years after trial.

"Our system of justice is sufficiently flexible to allow justice to prevail at any time in the process," he said. "It's the way our system self-corrects."

Posthumous cases are rare but not unheard of in Pennsylvania. At least one other deceased Pennsylvanian -- also a Molly Maguire -- was pardoned in 1979.

"The relief that is being sought here is extraordinary, but it has occurred," Mr. Bowman said.