jury duty. Reimbursement amounts for transporting and caring for prisoners were capped to prevent inflation of costs by local law enforcement. Salaries of state officials were reduced by 20 percent. The state property tax was also increased from 40 to 45 cents per $100 of taxable property, and laws were strengthened to facilitate the collection of delinquent taxes. Penal reform Blackburn's primary focus was on reforms to the state's penal system. According to Blackburn, 953 prisoners were being held at the state penitentiary, although the structure only contained 780 cells. Conditions in the penitentiary were poor and resulted in many illnesses. One fifth of the state's prisoners suffered from pneumonia in 1875. When Blackburn became governor in 1879, the mortality rate of the almost one thousand inmates in the state penitentiary was over 7 percent. Scurvy caused by poor nutrition afflicted 75 percent of prisoners. Blackburn compared conditions at the penitentiary to the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta. The poor conditions at the penitentiary were partially because the state leased management of the facility to private contractors, who frequently neglected prisoners' needs to cut costs. These contractors often provided benefits such as cheap laundry services and free meals to legislators to secure contracts and encourage them to ignore their abuse of prisoners. Blackburn called for the contract system to be replaced with a system of oversight by wardens employed by the state. Before the General Assembly could act on his recommendations, Blackburn began granting pardons to relieve prison overcrowding. He particularly favored clemency for the incurably sick so they could go home to die with their families. During his term, Blackburn pardoned over one thousand individuals, earning him the nickname "Lenient Luke". The pardons were extremely unpopular with both the public and the Democratic political establishment. Several newspapers claimed that Blackburn sold pardons for two dollars apiece, though no evidence exists to support such an accusation. In the 1880 legislative session, the General Assembly approved Blackburn's recommendation to construct a new state penitentiary in Eddyville. Legislators also responded to Blackburn's call for a warden system, authorizing the state to employ a warden, deputy warden, clerk, physician, and chaplain for the penitentiary. As a means of alleviating overcrowding, the Assembly allowed private contractors to lease convict labor from the penitentiary. These contractors would be responsible for feeding, clothing, housing, and caring for the prisoners in their charge. With no oversight of