NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — The ghost of "Tom Dooley" might soon be able to lift up his head after all.
Some townspeople are seeking a posthumous pardon for local legend Tom Dula, the charismatic ladies' man hanged more than 130 years ago for murdering his pregnant girlfriend and burying her in a shallow grave.
They say Dula, immortalized in the 1958 Kingston Trio folk ballad, would not be convicted today based on evidence presented at his trial.
The effort, led by the local weekly newspaper, The Record, is based on a review of 250 pages of documents that residents in this western North Carolina town have been arguing over since the case unfolded.
"I'm 69 years old, and it has been discussed all my life," said North Wilkesboro Mayor Conley Call, who supports the pardon drive.
Ken Welborn, publisher of The Record, hired a local law firm to prepare a formal petition asking Gov. Mike Easley for the pardon. The governor's office hasn't received a request yet.
"We want people to know both in the rest of the state and all along the Eastern seaboard that there are many folks here in Wilkes County who feel he was unjustly convicted," Welborn said.
Dula, 23, was accused of stabbing to death Laura Foster, who is believed to have died May 28, 1866.
Dula, a former Confederate soldier, was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang, but the verdict was overturned. He was convicted in a second trial and was hanged in front of 3,000 people in Statesville on May 1, 1868.