[3] In 1844, Gordon was tried and convicted for the December 31, 1843, beating murder of Amasa Sprague, a Cranston textile factory owner.

Six months before his murder, Amasa Sprague had used his family's political influence to have Cranston resident Nicholas Gordon's liquor license removed by the city council.

[2] In 2011, playwright Ken Dooley wrote and produced a stage play “The Murder Trial of John Gordon”.

Following passing of the resolution by the Rhode Island General Assembly, Governor Lincoln Chafee pardoned Gordon on June 29, 2011.

[3] In September 2014, Enda Kenny, the Taoiseach of Ireland, visited the Rhode Island Irish Famine Memorial and in a speech praised Martin and Chafee for pardoning Gordon.