On February 7, 1940, a final heart-wrenching letter arrived at the White House:
My Dear Mr. President:
Just recently I wrote to you, asking executive clemency in the case of Ellis H. Parker, Senior, of this town.
The Supreme Being, in all his infinite mercy (sic), has relieved you from that responsibility. Mister Parker passed away in the eastern Federal penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pa: this morning.
Yours Truly,
Robert F. Myers
Mount Holly, NJ
Before Ellis Parker's death (in 1940) petitions were started by his friends and admirers asking for an executive pardon or clemency. One petition was estimated to contain 6500 signatures. Just prior to Ellis’s death letters and telegrams rained down on the White House beseeching President Franklin D. Roosevelt to pardon Chief of Detectives, Ellis H. Parker, Sr. from such notables as:
Senator William H. Smathers
Colonel Mark O. Kimberly, Superintendent, New Jersey State Police
Robert Peacock, Assistant Attorney General Of New Jersey
Commissioner George DeB. Kein, The Port Of New York Authority
Howard Eastwood, Prosecutor of the Pleas of Burlington County, New Jersey
Samuel Borden, The Farmers Trust Company
George B. Bitting, Surrogate, Burlington County’s Surrogate Office
Joseph G. Buch, Chairman, Crippled Children Commission
Rudolph Thielen, Imperial Detective Bureau
County Detective Benevolent Association Of New Jersey
The New Jersey State Assembly of County Detectives
Major Clifford R. Powell, Forty-Fourth Division, Trento
Robert Turner, President, Mechanics National Bank of Burlington
Dr. Harold E. Longsdorf, Superintendent, Mount Holly Mental Hospital
John B. and Dorothy Roe Lewis, Publishers, Daily Enterprise
Hon. Frank A Hendrickson, Judge, Burlington Co. Common Pleases Court
Charles C. Hansbury, Editor, The Mount Holly Harold
Russell M. Stoddard, Mount Holly Coroner
Alvin D. Sweeney, Structural Trades Alliance of Burlington County
Walter I. Dill, Vice President, Union National Bank and Trust Company
Francis H. Reed, Jury Commissioner, Burlington County
F. Geo. Furth, Sherriff, Burlington County
Frank M. Ryan, Managing Editor, Courier-Post Newspapers
S. I. Newhouse, President & Publisher, The Newark Ledger
This list of above notable law enforcement, judicial, media, financial leaders and others, reflects the respect and admiration those who had dealt with Ellis H. Parker had for him. Ellis’s was a life well lived. His contribution to the development of law enforcement, criminal pursuit and capture, and criminal prosecution was un-measurable. He should be acknowledged and honored for this.
According to a New York Time’s article that appeared the day after Ellis Parker’s death, Judge Clark (presiding Judge at Ellis’s criminal trial) had vowed, “…if a legal precedent could be found for a posthumous pardon he would give consideration to, a recommendation for it.” Prosecutor Quinn concurred. He too would recommend the posthumous pardon.