LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Ahead of Juneteenth, Gov. Andy Beshear issued posthumous pardons for 43 Kentuckians who were imprisoned for helping enslaved people escape to freedom.

"These leaders are heroes – not criminals – and they and their families deserve the justice of having their names cleared," Beshear said Monday in a news release.

Beshear signed the executive order Monday alongside Rev. Andrew Baskin, a professor emeritus and former associate professor of African and African American Studies at Berea College, and James Prichard, a historian, author and former member of the Filson Historical staff.

"I think it’s important, particularly in this time when there seems to be an effort to sanitize our past, that this part of our history is no longer swept under the rug and becomes a part of Kentucky’s soil," Prichard said. "It is well that Kentucky has finally honored the courage and sacrifice of those whose names have previously been lost to history."

In Kentucky, helping people escape slavery was harshly punished, and many of those convicted died behind bars because of brutal conditions at the Kentucky State Penitentiary.

Among those pardoned was Elijah Anderson, a free Black man historians say helped roughly 1,000 people reach freedom through the Underground Railroad. One of Kentucky's most active conductors, Anderson was arrested for his efforts and later died in the penitentiary. 

Also pardoned was Julett Miles, a Black woman who crossed the Ohio River to rescue her children after learning they were going to be sold. She later died in prison as well.

Thomas Brown, an Irish immigrant, was also among those pardoned. Brown was arrested and suffered severe beatings while imprisoned before eventually being released.

"We're talking about individuals who knew that there was a law, they knew that the law was unjust, they knew that the law was immoral, and they were willing to disobey the law and to suffer the consequences," Baskin said. "What Gov. Beshear did today is help to correct part of the mistakes that have happened in the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

Juneteenth is observed June 19 and marks the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people were free. The order came more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

Beshear signed an executive order in May 2024 officially declaring June 19 an executive branch holiday to be observed as Juneteenth National Day of Freedom.

Click here for a list of 2026 Juneteenth celebrations planned in the Louisville area.

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