Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
1505955
label
ACLU Press Conference, 10/3/75
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
1505955
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
ACLU Press Conference, 10/3/75
citationUrl
collections
Charles E. Goodell Papers
Presidential Clemency Board Subject Files
subjects
President (1974-1977 : Ford). Presidential Clemency Board. 9/16/1974-9/15/1975
Amnesty
iiifBase
thumbnailUrl
largeImageUrl
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
1505955
coverageEndDate
logicalDate
1975-10-31
month
10
year
1975
coverageStartDate
logicalDate
1975-10-01
month
10
year
1975
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
url
mediaId
f3291a708ea77844
ocrText
The original documents are located in Box 1, folder "ACLU Press Conference, 10/3/75" of
the Charles E. Goodell Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Charles Goodell donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box 1 of the Charles E. Goodell Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
Hi
Well poor old Henry didn't
have a very good turnout - only
6 media folk turned out. no
wire services and no major
radio - only national public
radio. Boston Globe and L.A.
Times only newspapers represented.
The only comment that was notable
was that Henry called upon the
media to exercise whatever
power they had to insure that
the Pardon Attorney and the
Justice Dept. did not re-review
the cases the PCB has already
made recomendations on but to
let them go on to the President
as currently recommended.
His attacks on General Walt
also helped us.
Mrs. Ransom was pitiful in her
remarks as the allegations she
made were not backed up by facts
and she was constantly caught
and Henry kept trying to rescue
her but, of course, it is sad
as she said that her son would
have been 31 vears old vesterdav
had he not been killed in VietNam
7 years ago. Her back-up on
the Gold Star parents being for
Unconditional Amnesty was challenged
by one reporter and she had to
back down and both she and Henry
had to admit there was very little
support from them for Amnesty.
Henry said Kastenmeir's bill
was not the best of both worlds
but better than nothing. You
will note they have attached
a supoosed NCAAU Bill and
compared it with HR 9596.
I almost felt sorry for Henry
because their comments were so
pitifully inane and carried no
impact or solid support of any
kind.
Hope to see you soon - meanwhile
best of all to you.
Nia
790=0275
American Civil Liberties Union
22 East 40th Street
New York, New York 10016
Edward J. Ennis, Chairperson, Board of Directors
Ramsey Clark, Chairperson, National Advisory Council
Aryeh Neier, Executive Director.
For information contact Trudi Schutz, Press Director
Telephone day: (212) 725-1222 night: 725-1473 home: 799-9258
neither Wire service Present
Public Radio there
Boston Shoke there
L.a. Thines David Lamb
6 media Reps. in all
October 3, 1975
no TV
Statement of
Henry Schwarzschild,
Director, Project on Amnesty,
American Civil Liberties Union,
LIBRARY GERALD A. FORD
on the
Presidential Clemency Program and Amnesty
The Presidential Clemency Program excluded from eligibility
most of the 750,000-or-more people who need a post-Vietnam amnesty;
it attracted less than 15% of those who were eligible; it offered
to most of them useless and falsely advertised remedies in exchange
for hurtful and demeaning conditions.
This is the program that has been accused by four former
Presidential Clemency Board members of cynically selling out to
an amnesty orientation and defended by the other fourteen members
as having healed the wounds of a very difficult and trying time in
America's history.
The American Civil Liberties Union, in union with the amnesty
movement and the war resisters, submits that neither attacks on
the late Clemency Program from professional warriors nor self-serving
praise for it from its administrators can transform that failure of
a clemency into a decent or successful amnesty. The Presidential
Clemency Board "minority" of four has little to worrv about: the
majority of fourteen are entitled to no pride of achievement. In
the Ford Clemency Board, 4 plus 13 equals 0.
There has been no amnesty, there has been no healing of wounds,
there has been no reconciliation after the terrible divisions that
the war caused in our country. Tens of thousands of young men and
women who resisted the draft or the brutalization and racism of the
-2-
military, who were subjected to court-martial and military
discharge practices of established lawlessness and inhumanity
and were cashiered out of the military with lifelong stigmas and
disabilities, or who fought at home against the destructive ten-
year war, continue to bear profound wounds. In turning away from
the war, we continue to make the veterans and the war resisters the
principal, the only, bearers of the burdens of the Vietnam War, while
the Westmorelands and McNamaras and Kissingers have their jobs and
pensions and their undiminished arrogance. And their amnesty, too.
The Clemency Program was a failure in its conception, inasmuch
as it insisted upon establishing that those who refused to participate
in the war in Southeast Asia were the criminals of the Vietnam era
while at the same time claiming to reduce their punishment. The
Clemency Program was a failure in its design, since it made ineligible
for clemency the overwhelming majority of those who need amnesty, while
offering useless remedies under demeaning conditions to the rest. The
Clemency Program was a failure in its execution, inasmuch as five sixths
of those thought eligible did not even apply for clemency, and the
few who applied received arbitrary and inequitable treatment.
The one valid point that USMC Gen. Lewis Walt's "Minority Report"
makes is the inefficiency of the Presidential Clemency Board. In a
full year of operation, a staff of up to 600 persons processed about
20,000 applications for clemency, most of them in a crash panic within
the last month or two of operations. Only about 2,500 have in fact
so far been offered clemency by the President. The attempt to examine
thousands upon thousands of cases on their individual merits is inherently
inefficient, not least because it is inherently unjustifiable when the
"crimes" in question consist of conflict with the draft and the military
in the context of a war whose lawfulness and morality have been rejected
by the American people and by most of its political and moral leader-
ship. General Walt, in this matter, merely helps make our point against
-3-
any case-by-case amnesty adjudication. Only a universal and uncondi-
tional amnesty will meet the tests of efficiency, humanity and justice.
General Walt's "Minority Report" has one other major quarrel
with the Clemency Board's proceedings. It concerns the recommendation
of clemency for men who have been convicted of serious crimes other
than the draft or military absence offense for which clemency was
available. The General and his three colleagues claim that this puts
the President in the position of pardoning rapists and murderers.
That is a serious and knowing distortion. The clemency is offered
for the draft and military absence offense only, not for murder or
rape or armed robbery. The Board quite properly recommended clemency
without considering irrelevant circumstances in the few cases where
this problem arose. The President will not be pardoning murder or
rape; he will give his limited clemency for the war-related offense
for which the applicant has already been punished. One has to remember
that some 27% or more of the military absence cases that the Clemency
Board considered involved men who had served in Vietnam. Some of
these men got involved with drugs, as did innumerable GI's in Vietnam.
The bad military discharge which made these men eligible for clemency
in the first place, and which is a massive handicap in the job market,
together with drug abuse, is without any doubt the source of a high
proportion of the other criminal offenses that some few have on their
records. It would be compounding the wounds, rather than healing them,
to deny them clemency for the military absence offense and the bad
discharge because of some other crime for which no clemency or pardon
is contemplated or recommended.
For the rest of Gen. Walt's diatribe, one can only mention the
angry resentment of any sort of clemency that pervades the so-called
"Minority Report" and the grossness of its submission to the White
House via the Veterans of Foreign Wars before the Clemency Board as
such has made any formal report on its administration of the Clemency
Program. With the smiling Mr. Goodell and the scowling General Walt
-4-
superintending clemency, like foxes in charge of the chicken coop,
one wonders where President Ford will obtain clemency for his sullying
of the concept of a post-war amnesty.
We call upon the Presidential Clemency Board, now defunct, and
upon the White House promptly to issue a full report on the results
of the Clemency Program. The country is entitled to know what was
and what was not achieved. The President now has on his desk some
12,000 clemency recommendations from his own Board. We call for
the prompt issuance of the clemency warrants, for whatever they are
worth, so that the men concerned will know what their status is. We
call upon the Attorney General and the U.S. Pardon Attorney, now
charged with the cleaning up of the Board's remaining workload, to
apply standards of judgment with respect to clemency at least no
more stringent than those of the Clemency Board. The notion of equal
protection demands nothing less.
Finally, we call upon the President. and upon the Congress to
share the amnesty that they have extended to themselves for the
governmental lawlessness called the War in Southeast Asia, to share
their amnesty with those of our citizens, most of them of the young
generation, who continue to bear the wounds of participation in and
the wounds of resistance to the war. No problem will be solved, no
one's life even slightly improved, by making the idealistic and the'
ill-equipped continue to suffer for Vietnam. The Ford Clemency
Program failed. Honesty must compel the Clemency Board and the
President to acknowledge the failure. Decency and humanity should
compel the President and the Congress to enact a universal and
unconditional amnesty for all those who have already undergone or
still face criminal or administrative penalties for their conflict
with the draft, the military and the war during the Vietnam era.
It is time.
also called you the -30- media to do what it
could in seeing that that current recommendation would
byou the Pardoning attorney and the President to go
not he re-exammed but allowed
through as recommended by the Board
American Civil Liberties Union
22 East 40th Street
New. York, New York 10016
Edward J. Ennis, Chairperson, Board of Directors
Ramsey Clark, Chairperson, National Advisory Council
Aryeh Neier, Executive Director.
For information contact Trudi Schutz, Press Director
Telephone day: (212) 725-1222 night: 725-1473 home: 799-9258
PR 28-75
For release: Friday, October 3, 1975, 11 a.m.
ACLU DENOUNCES PRESIDENT'S CLEMENCY PROGRAM AS "FAILURE"
Calls for General Amnesty "To End the War Against Americans"
Washington, D.C., Oct. 3:
The Presidential Clemency Program for Vietnam
War-resisters, which closed its doors on September 15, was
described as "a failure on conception, design, and execution"
by the amnesty director of the American Civil Liberties Union
at a press conference here today. Henry Schwarzschild, the
ACLU official, said that the program's failure underscored
the need for a universal and unconditional amnesty that
would "end the war against hundreds of thousands of young
Americans who would not submit quietly to an unconstitutional
and immoral war."
The civil liberties union representative charged
that the Clemency Program, announced with much fanfare by
President Ford one year ago, had excluded most of those who
needed a post-war amnesty and had attracted fewer than 15%
of those who were actually eligible for clemency. President
Ford, who had described his program as an effort at national
reconciliation, has signed only about 2,500 clemency warrants
to date. About 21,000 men applied for clemency out of the
estimated 135,000 who were eligible. The ACLU claims over
three quarters of a million men and women require a general
Page 2
PR 28-75
amnesty to overcome the disabilities created by war resistance
and conflict with the military services in the Vietnam era.
The ACLU also denounced retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen.
Lewis Walt, a former member of the Presidential Clemency
Board, who issued a "minority report," signed also by three
other Board members, which was sharply critical of the
"amnesty orientation" of the Board's majority. Mr. Schwarz-
schild said that "neither attacks on the late Clemency Program
from professional warriors nor self-serving praise for it from
its administrators can transform that failure of a clemency
into a decent or successful amnesty. " He continued: "The
Presidential Clemency Board minority of four has little to
worry about; the majority of fourteen are entitled to no
pride of achievement. In the Ford Clemency Board, 4 plus
14 equals 0. "
In his statement, Mr. Schwarzschild called upon the
President and the Congress to "share the amnesty that they
have extended to themselves for the governmental lawlessness
called the War in Southeast Asia" with the war resisters.
-30-
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
PROJECT ON AMNESTY
October 3, 1975
Fact Sheet:
THE PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY PROGRAM and AMNESTY
(For the purposes of this memorandum, the Vietnam Era is
reckoned to be the span from August 1964 (Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution) to January 1973 (Cease Fire Agreements). .)
1. Number of people in need of post-Vietnam War amnesty.
A. Selective Service System delinquents
209,000
Department of Justice draft indictments
23,400
draft convictions
8,700
DoJ draft prosecutions pending
Oct. 1974
6,700
Feb. 1975
4,400
B. Non-registrants and late registrants for the draft:
Number unknown
(The Selective Service System's estimates of
non-registration range from 4% to 10+% per
year. About 2,000,000 males turn 18 each year
in the U.S.; multiply this by the 10 year-plus
of the war. The number of persons technically
in jeopardy of draft prosecution for non-
registration may be in the million-or-more range.)
C. Military deserters at large
1974 DoD estimate
12,500
1975 DoD estimate
10,500
D. Other military offenses
No. of courts-martial
550,000
E. Less-than-honorable military discharges
660,000
F. Civilian protest and resistance offenses
Number unknown
G. Exclusion of "aliens" from the country
Ca. 7,500 U.S. war resisters so far naturalized
in Canada. Thousands more qualifying for natur-
alization in Canada in 1975 to 1980.
Total number of people affected by a general amnesty:
ca. 750,000-plus
2. Number of people eligible for the Presidential Clemency Program
and number of applications received.
Eligible
Applied
olo
DoD (unconvicted deserters)
10,500
5,500
53%
DoJ (unconvicted draft violators)
.4,400
770
18%
Presidential Clemency Board:
draft convictions
8,700
2,000
23%
court-martial and pun. disch. 20,000
5,000
25%
admin. discharges
91,000
8,500
8%
PCB total
120,000
15,500
13%
Grand Total
ca. 135,000
21,770
156
Page 2
3. Dispositions of clemency applications.
A. Department of Justice
Clemency agreements signed
711
Alternate service sentences imposed:
maximum (24 mos.)
51% )
18-23 mos.
25% )
18-24 mos. : 76%
1-17 mos.
23%
None
0%
Notes:
- entrapment of persons into clemency agreements
who were not under active prosecution and others who
had been omitted from "final" indictment list.
- waiver of constitutional rights required.
- "reaffirmation of allegiance" required.
- admission of guilt required.
- sentence imposed by prosecutor.
- sentence unreviewable and unappealable.
B. Department of Defense
Military absentees processed
5,500
Alternate service sentences imposed
maximum (19-24 mos.)
Army: 79%
Navy: 79%
AF
: 67%
MC : 83%
Total:
79.6%
Notes:
- The "Undesirable Discharge" given is a
life-long stigma and handicap, and effectively
disqualifies for veterans' benefits.
- "reaffirmation of allegiance" required.
- acknowledgment required that person did
not do his duty to his country.
- alternate service terms imposed by senior
career military officers, without hearing or
possibility of appeal.
- processing ignored possible entitlement to
Honorable Discharges for illegal induction, in-
service conscientious objection, hardship, medical
and other reasons.
C. Presidential Clemency Board
See "Table 1" attached
Notes:
- PCB denied clemency to about 6% of applicants
- PCB recommended unconditional clemency to
about 44% of applicants (83% of the draft resister
cases, 38% of the military desertion and discharge
cases)
- PCB recommended clemency contingent upon
alternate service in about 50% of its cases
(16% of the draft resister cases, 56% of the military
desertion and discharge cases).
- PCB made some clemency recommendation in about
14,500 cases. The DoJ has an additional 1,000 cases
to dispose of. The President has signed only about
2. 500 clemency warrants an far
- IMPORTANT: All applicants to the PCB have
already served their punishment for whatever draft
or military offense they were convicted of. Any
-
Page 2a
TABLE 1: Presidential Clemency Board dispositions (i.e. recommendations for Presidential action) (1)(2)
FORD
LIBRARY
of
PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY BOARD DISPOSITIONS
GERALS
Total no.
Uncond.
Alternate Service Obligation
No
of cases
pardon
3 mos.
4-6 mos.
7-9 mos.
10-12 mos.
13-24 mos.
Clemency
Former
military
14,000
38%
20%
23%
10%
3%
0.2%
6%
personnel
(3)(4)(5)
*
Draft
violators
2,000
83%
8%
5%
1%
2%
0.4%
1%
(6)(7)
Notes: General - (1) The report is as of approximately September 1, 1975.
(2) All figures are approximate and rounded.
Former military personnel -
(3) 8,400 (60%) with administrative (Undesirable) discharges.
5,600 (40%) with court-martial convictions and punitive (Bad Conduct
or Dishonorable) discharges.
(4) 7,140 (51%) served no time in confinement in military service.
(5) Average time spent in confinement pursuant to court-martial sentence
and/or pre-trial: 2 1/3 months.
Draft violators -
(6) 1,335 (66%) served no time in confinement pursuant to sentence of court.
(7) Average time spent in confinement pursuant to sentence of court and/or
pre-trial: 4 1/3 months.
Page 3
PCB-imposed alternate service sentence is additional
punishment.
- Over one half of those receiving clemency
recommendations from the PCB do not need a pardon
because they were never convicted of a crime (they
were "administratively" discharged from the military).
- The "Clemency Discharge" offered by the program
does not entitle to veterans' benefits and stigmatizes
the holder as a deserter or even traitor.
- The PCB did not grant the applicants the right
to a hearing before the Board, nor was there any appeal
from its findings or recommendations.
D. Selective Service System ("Reconciliation Service")
See "Table 2" attached
Notes: -Short-term jobs, not in competition with the
labor market, are simply not available.
-Great diversity in judgment of State Selective
Service directors and draft boards in qualifying
jobs for "Reconciliation Service"
-Out of 20,000 persons processed by the whole
Clemency Program, fewer than 2,000 are doing
alternate service. Over 2,000 have already
refused to do the alternate service or have
dropped out. More are sure to follow, especially
as they realize the uselessness of the remedies
accruing at the completion and as they cannot
find jobs that qualify and earn them a living.
Yet the Selective Service System used the Clemency
Program to inflate its budget request this FY by
$6,000,000.
Page 3a
TABLE 2: "Reconciliation Service" referrals and dispositions (as of 8/26/75)
Clemencies
Referrals
Recon. Serv.
Doing
Refused or
processed
rec'd at 8/26
completed
Recon. Serv.
terminated
DoD
5,500
4,503
73
1,359
2,126
DoJ
711
721 (!)
13
469
36
PCB
14,500
164
7
35
4
Total
20,711
5,388
93
1,863
2,166
Oct. 3, 1975
National Council For Universal Unconditional Amnesty
COMPARISON:
HR 9596 (limited "relief")
NCUUA Bill (Total Amnesty)
TIME PERIOD COVERS - August 4, 1964 -
TIME PERIOD COVERS - January 1, 1961 -
March 28, 1973
April 30, 1975
MILITARY SELECTIVE SERVICE VIOLATORS
MILITARY SELECTIVE SERVICE VIOLATORS
All those who failed or refused to re-
All those who failed or refused to re
gister for the draft, who failed to ac-
gister for the draft, who failed to ac-
cept or refused induction into the Armed
cept or refused induction into the Armed
Forces, or who otherwise violated the
Forces, or who otherwise violated the
Selective Service Act or regulations
Selective Service Act or regulations
during the time period covered by this
during the time period covered by this
bill must file a certificate stating that
bill are automatically granted amnesty.
their act was because of DISAPPROVAL OF
The Government has the responsibility
THE MILITARY INVOLVEMENT OF THE U.S. IN
for effecting this amnesty and informing
INDOCHINA. This certificate is filed with
all those involved. The individual is
the Attorney General All prior convic-
not required to petition the government,
tions are then vacated, pending charges
or to sign any document, or to take any
dismissed, records expunged, and immunity
other action.
from prosecution given.
All rights are-restored, NY records ex-
(Note: under this bill, the Department of
punged, convictions vacated, and immunity
Justice may prosecute an individual for
from prosecution given.
perjury or making a false statement in
(Note: no perjury or false statement charge
the certificate of disapproval, in which
can be made since the individual signs no
case the relief granted may be rescinded.)
statement.)
VIOLATORS OF THE UNIFORM. CODE OF
VIOLATORS OF THE UNIFORM CODE OF
MILITARY JUSTICE
MILITARY JUSTICE
All those who are charged with vio-
All deserters and AWOLs and violators
lating 2 specific articles of UCMJ (85 -
of 31 other specified articles of UCMJ
AWOL, 86 - desertion), or who are "alleged
which could be anti-war related (such as
to have disobeyed an order which if
making "disloyal statements", distributing
obeyed, the member or former member could
GI newspapers, or using "contemptuous
reasonably have foreseen, under ordinary
language") and do not involve civilian
circumstances, to have as its possible con-
crimes are automatically amnestied. The
sequence the death of another human being"
Government is responsible for informing all
during the time period covered by this
individuals concerned.
bill are eligible for relief if they file
All rights are to be restored, the
a certificate stating that the act was a
person is granted immunity from prosecu-
result of DISAPPROVAL OF THE MILITARY IN-
tion, and is given an Honorable discharg
VOLVEMENT OF THE U.S. IN INDOCHINA.
including full benefits and no stigma-
The individual is then granted a
tizing code
Certificate of Resignation which does not
V.A. benefits number. if servid reginred
entitle him to any VA benefits. While
this certificate can go through the dis-
180 days in military
charge review proceedings, it is just as
stigmatizing and discriminatory as arless
than honorable discharge. All records
are expunged.
(Note: other UCMJ violations are not co-
GERALD
vered in this bill.)
CITIZENSHIP
CITIZENSHIP
Those who would like to regain U.S.
Persons who have lost or renounced U.S.
citizenship must take an oath renouncing
citizenship shall have it unconditionally
foreign citizenship, sign the certificate
restored by stating to the Commission (see
stating their act was a result of dis-
that section) that they lost citizenship
approval of U.S. military involvement in
because of resistance or opposition to the
Indochina, and U.S. citizenship will be
draft, the military, or the involvement of
restored.
the U.S. in Indochina.
Others who want only to visit the U.S.
By a similar statement, persons who wish
must state to the Immigration and Natur-
to retain foreign citizenship, but wish to
alization Service of the DOJ that re-
visit the U.S. shall be exempted from the
nouncing U.S. citizenship was due to dis-
exclusion provisions of the Immigration
approval of U.S. military involvement in
laws.
Indochina. The individual is then to be
exempted from the exclusionary parts of
Immigration and Naturalization Act.
OTHER THAN HONORABLE DISCHARGES
OTHER THAN HONORABLE DISCHARGES
Any such person who has been admini-
All persons given an other than honor-
stratively discharged or court martialed
able discharge in the period covered by
from the Armed Forces, for AWOL, desertion,
this bill are automatically granted an un-
or who disobeyed an order which, if ob-
coded Honorable discharge. Responsibility
eyed, could have led to the death of
is with the Department of Defense to send
another human being, with an other than
Honorable discharges to all concerned indi-
honorable discharge, can be granted a
viduals (no individual is required to file
certificate of resignation if he signs a
a petition). All are entitled to full VA
statement saying he disapproved of US
benefits.
military, involvement in Indochina. This
After April 30, 1975 all persons dis-
certificate carries no VA benefits, but
charged from the Armed Forces are to re-
is eligible for discharge review proce-
ceive an uncoded single-type discharge.
dures. It is just as stigmatizing and
discriminatory as a less than honorable
discharge.
close to
CIVILIAN RESISTERS
CIVILIAN RESISTERS
hearn
HR 9596 does not provide for civilian
All those who are alleged to have vio-
resisters.
lated 8 specified articles of title 18,
U.S. Code involving violations affecting
the national defense (such as harboring
deserters, destruction of war material,
corresponding with a foreign government
official
etc.) during the time period covered by the
bill are automatically amnestied, records
are. expunged, rights are restored, and im-
munity from prosecution is granted. It is
the responsibility of the Government to
notify each individual.
CLEMENCY PROGRAM
CLEMENCY PROGRAM
Those serving reconciliation service,
All those agreements with the Clemency
planning to, etc., are treated like all
Board are null and void and all are eli-
other applicants. They must fill out a
gible for total amnesty as are others who
certificate stating the action or alleged
did not accept the Clemency Program or were
violation was due ti DISAPPROVAL OF THE
not eligible. Honorable discharges would
U.S. MILITARY INVOLVEMENT IN INDOCHINA.
replace "Clemency discharges" with full
The Clemency Program's alternate service
benefits.
can be terminated if so desired.
APPEAL
APPEAL
Under HR 9596, an individual who is
The NCUUA bill provides for a process
eligible under the program, but has other
of claim filing. The individual who be-
charges not covered by the bill must pe--
lieves an alleged violation should be am-
tition to receive dismissal for those
nestied files a claim to the Commission
alleged violations, provided the act in
stating that the alleged violation wad due
question resulted because of disapproval
to OPPOSITION TO THE DRAFT, THE MILITARY,
of U.S. military involvement in Indochina
OR TO U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN INDOCHINA.
and was not a crime of violence against
(Immunity from prosecution is provided for
person or property.
personal appearances). The Government has
The burden of proof is on the indivi-
90 days to show that the act was clearly
dual and not on the government. No time
unrelated to opposition to the draft, the
limit is placed on U.S. district court's
military or to U.S. involvement in Indo-
response or action. A three year time
china. If the Government cannot or does not
limit is set for individuals if any
do so, the individual receives unconditional
judicial remedy is sought.
amnesty and full rights as in the case of
no oaths of alligiance
automatic amnesty.
THE COMMISSION
The NCUUA bill provides for a Commission
of 7 members to hear all claims not auto-
matically amnestied. The composition is
as follows: at least 2 shall be women,
at least 2 shall be from minority groups,
at least 2 shall not have served in the
Armed Forces, at least 2 shall have been
born since January, 1, 1943.
Mrs. Ransom read this
atetement
NCUUA
National Council for Universal and Unconditional Amnesty
For immediate release:
Statement by Pat Simon, Gold Star Parents for Amnesty
The recent revelations by a former CIA official that American
officials deliberately mis-represented the strength of the Viet Cong
prior to the Tet offensive of 1968 -- compounds the anguish of
families of boys who lost their lives in Vietnam. As if it were not
enough to lose a son in war, we must now contend with the knowledge
that American GIs were literally led into ambush by American generals
who portrayed various areas as militarily secure, when they knew that
the strength of opposition forces was in fact overwhelming. Now we
must live with the knowledge that deceiving the American public about
the progress of the war was more important to our leaders than the
lives of our sons. Now we must live with the knowledge that while
our nation's leaders were speaking of protecting the rights of the
South Vietnamese people, the United States Ambassador to South Vietnam
was engaged in the treason of concealing the strength of opposition
troops.
These most recent revelations of our government's criminality are
bearing out some of the most extreme statements made during the war
by war resisters; it should now be apparent that many of the boys who
deserted from the battle fields understood all too well the treachery
which was rampant among their superiors. These sinister developments
make the government's policy of refusing amnesty to war resisters seem
especially perverse. For this reason, we join with NCUUA in calling
for universal unconditional amnesty for all such resisters.
We believe that some sort of legal action should be brought against
those officials who participated in this outrageous conduct. The
steering committee of Gold Star Parents for Amnesty is presently in-
vestigating the possibility of bringing a class action suit against
officials concerned, on behalf of the families of some ten thousand
men who lost their lives because of this criminal deceit.
only in talking stage by Mrs. Amon in Boston - acLU fover
has not been ashed - as yek- -
to represent them I ashed -
they may consider it -
CUUA
National Council for Universal and Unconditional Amnesty
235 East 49th Street
New York City 10017
(212)688-8097
For immediate release, Washington, D.C., Oct. 3, 1975
Statement by coordinator of NCUUA Louse Ransom
The National Council For Universal Unconditional Amnesty salutes the ending
of the President's Clemency Program with relief and hope. It was no accident that a
large parcentage of the men and women it purported to help boycotted, with remarkable
unity, what they conceived to be "shamnesty".
It had been stated frequently by members of the Clemency Board that the
reasons for the small number of applicants was lack of information on the previsions
of the program. On the contrary, the resisters knew all too well that it was highly
punitive, excluded most who needed amnesty, and in factrextended the gross inequities
of the Selective Service system which managed to induct only about 10% of the eligible
draft-age manpower primarily from the poor and racial minorities of our country.
Furthermore, it attempted to obscure the fact that opposition to the U.S. military
involvement in Indochina was a prime motivation of resisters.
Our relief is due to the fact that the American people are no longer being
deluded into thinking that some kind of justice was taking place, and the hope is that
the way may now be cleared for Congress to enact the kind of universal, unconditional
amnesty which is the only just and practical way of resolving one of the most significan
legacies of the Vietnam generation, one which directly affects the lives of over a
million of our young people and their families.
A step has been taken by the Subcommittee on the Courts, Civil Liberties,
and the Administration of Justice, chaired by Rep. Robert Kastenmeier, with HR 9590,
the "Vietnam Era Reconciliation Act, 1975,' which will be debated by the entire
Judiciary Committee some time this month. This bill has gone significantly beyond the
Clemency Program to bring relief from legal jeopardy for some categories of war resisters.
Unfortunately, a majority of military and civilian offenses are still not covered
under this bill, and those cases which are covered will still suffer the stigma in
seeking employment which results from any discharge which is less than honorable.
Since, as mentioned previously, the burdens of the military effort fell primarily on
the poverty sector, this places a disproportionate hardship on minority veterans.
The Amnesty Council, through its 100 affiliates, will be seeking to broaden
the coverage of the Kastenmeier Bill through meetings with legislators, regional con-
ferences throughout the nation, and a presence in Washington at the time of the debate.
(more)
NCUUA has written its own bill as a model toward which to work and is presented in
summary here.
With military hostilities finally at an end, it is essential that we do not
allow there to be a cover-up of the abuses of government power which led to and con-
tinued U.S. intervention in Indochina. In this connection the following statement
is presented by our affiliate, Gold Star Parents For Amnesty, in response to Samuel
Adams' revelations concerning the CIA and the Tet offensive:
NCUJJA press contact: Irma Zigas, (212) 688-8097
: GERALD =