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First Recommendations for Extension of Clemency (1)
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First Recommendations for Extension of Clemency (1)
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Charles E. Goodell Papers
Presidential Clemency Board Subject Files
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President (1974-1977 : Ford). Presidential Clemency Board. 9/16/1974-9/15/1975
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The original documents are located in Box 6, folder "First Recommendations for Extension
of Clemency (1)" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 6 of the Charles E. Goodell Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY BOARD
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
ACTION
November 25, 1974
MEMORANDUM FOR:
THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
CHARLES E. GOODELL
SUBJECT:
First Recommendations by the
Presidential Clemency Board for
Extension of Executive Clemency
On behalf of the Presidential Clemency Board, I am honored to submit
to you recommendations for extension of executive clemency to
eighteen draft evaders who were furloughed pursuant to your order.
The Board recommends that you extend: 1) unconditional pardon to
five individuals; 2) executive clemency to twelve individuals con-
ditioned upon completion of a specified period of alternative service
after which they will earn an unconditional pardon, and 3) uncondi-
tional commutation of sentence without pardon to one individual.
With respect to the twelve conditional pardons, the following is the
distribution of lengths of alternative service:
4 applicants for clemency -- 3 months
6 applicants for clemency -- 6 months
1 applicant for clemency
-- 10 months
1 applicant for clemency
- - 12 months
I recommend that you announce a decision to extend clemency to the
first group of eighteen individuals in an Oval Office public ceremony
on Friday, November 29. This memorandum explains the substantive
and the procedural standards the Board used to reach its recommenda -
tions, and describes the message which I believe that you should give
on Friday. There are several attachments to the memorandum.
Clemency implementing documents for
your signature
Tab A
Presidential Clemency Board Substantive
Standards
Tab B
FORD & GERALD LIBRARY
- 2 -
Presidential Clemency Board Procedural
Standards
Tab C
Summaries of Background of applicants
Tab D
We will present by Tuesday evening a proposed statement for you
to issue during the signature ceremony and a draft press release
based upon that statement.
I. In What Format Should You Announce the First
Batch of Clemencies?
I recommend that you hold a formal signing ceremony of the executive
clemency master warrants in the Oval Office on Friday, November 29,
at 10:00 a.m. At that ceremony, I recommend that you make a state-
ment relating the spirit of Thanksgiving to your grants of clemency.
You may want the Board at that ceremony, or perhaps its Chairman,
or perhaps its Chairman together with key Congressional supporters
of the clemency program.
II. On What Basis Has the Board Reached Its Recommendations?
The Presidential Clemency Board recognized that it is necessary to
provide notice to applicants and to maximize public certainty and
predictability about the standards it will apply. The Board also
recognized that the number of applicants could become substantial
only if potential applicants had an idea of how they would be treated.
Substantive standards are also necessary to ensure equity and con-
sistency and to ensure that the public perceives the program as fair.
After struggling for the better part of two months, the Board has now
reached unanimous agreement on the rules laid out in Tab B. Starting
with an alternative service length of 24 months, the Board will reduce
that period by three times the amount of prison time served, and on
a one-for-one basis for the amount of court-ordered alternative ser-
vice, probation or parole. The Board also specified the aggravating
and mitigating circumstances it will take into account in determining
whether an applicant should receive a grant of clemency, and in
determining whether his length of alternative service should be greater
or less than the mathematically -determined baseline.
FORD & LIBRARY 03RALD
-3-
Those standards have been submitted to the Federal Register for
publication on Wednesday, November 27.
We have also submitted to the Federal Register the procedural standards
on which the Board has unanimously agreed to operate. Those standards
provide that the applicant is entitled to counsel or other representation
in presenting his case to the Board. We will refer him to appropriate
volunteer counsel if he is unable to find one or is too poor to hire one.
Each applicant is encouraged to submit evidence in order to correct
inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information in his files, and is
encouraged to submit evidence and testimonials from other people
about his case. Each applicant has been made aware of these oppor-
tunities, and upon publication in the Federal Register the public will
be aware of them.
We believe that this program will be judged not only on the number of
people given clemency, and the terms on which clemency is offered,
but also upon whether decisions have been made with the fairness and
the due process befitting the spirit of the program and the spirit in
which you want this Administration to function. We have created a
process in which the applicant can truly discuss his case with the
Board and perhaps for the first time present to his government the
reasons why he acted the way he did. Whether he is granted or denied
clemency, we hope that he will believe that he has been treated with
fairness and compassion.
III. What Should Your Statement Try to Communicate to
the American People, and How Will the Board Follow
Up on Your Statement?
The issuance of the first batch of clemency decisions, your statement,
and formal publication of the Board's substantive and procedural rules to-
gether make Thanksgiving a critical point in the clemency program.
Potential applicants will now be able to decide with much more information
and with a sense of the tone with which you approach clemency decisions.
The rate of applications to the Clemency Board depends in large part on
the perception of the events of this week.
The conditions on the basis of which clemency is granted, and how you
explain those conditions in your statement, will be critical in shaping
America's perception of the program and of those granted clemency
under the program. It is important that the American people under stand
that most of those eligible for this program are not long-haired, well
educated, middle-class ideologues who tried to beat the system, but.
FORD
GERALD
LIBRARY
- 4 -
rather poor and uneducated individuals who were not sufficiently
sophisticated to understand their legal obligations or mature enough
to meet them.
Over and over again in the cases before the Board, we have found
the inarticulate individual whose father died leaving a family without
any means of support, or whose mother became acutely ill, or whose
wife told him that she was about to leave. All too frequently we have
found that if the individual had been educated enough to apply properly
through the Selective Service system, he never would have been
drafted into the armed forces in the first place. Often, the draft
evasions we have seen had nothing at all to do with the Vietnam War.
In the case of the Jehovah's Witnesses and some others, it had to
do with conscientious objections to participation of any kind in all
wars-and even those objectors were usually the poor and the illiterate
who just did not know how to pursue their rights properly.
If you can communicate this to the American people in your Thanksgiving
statement, these unfortunate individuals will be welcomed back to
employment and to a full life in our society. If the American people
change their mistaken image of the typical Vietnam-era draft evader,
then you will have laid the basis for his reintegration. into the com-
munity.
The Board will send you a great many more recommendations in
December. We will also take steps to maximize public exposure to
your grants of clemency and to the Board's rules, and will enlist the
assistance of various veterans' organizations, draft evaders' organi-
zations, and lawyers' organizations in that process.
V. Decision on the Board's Recommendations
1.
We recommend, after your examination of the case summaries
at Tab D, that you sign the implementing documents at Tab A.
Approved
Disapproved
Amended
2.
We recommend that you hold a formal signing ceremony of
the executive clemency master warrants in the Oval Office on
Friday, November 29, at 10:00 a.m.
FORD i LIBRARY GERALD
Approved
Disapproved
Amended
- -5-
3.
We recommend that you issue the summaries at Tab D to
the public in conjunction with the signature ceremony.
Approved
Disapproved
Amended
4.
Do you want the Board Members in attendance at that
ceremony, or the Board's Chairman, or its Chairman together
with key Congressional supporters of the clemency program?
Whole Board
Chairman alone
Congressional supporters
You alone
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
EXECUTIVE GRANT OF CLEMENCY
UNDER THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN ME BY ARTICLE II,
SECTION 2, OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED'STATES,
AND PURSUANT TO THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY BOARD, ESTABLISHED BY
PROCLAMATION 4313 AND EXECUTIVE ORDER 11803, I
HEREBY GRANT A CONDITIONAL PARDON TO THE FOLLOWING
PERSONS, SUBJECT TO THE FULFILLMENT OF CONDITIONS
SET FORTH IN THE "STATEMENT OF CONDITIONS FOR
EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY" ATTACHED HERETO, EXCEPT AS
THOSE MAY BE HEREINAFTER MODIFIED BY THE PRESIDENTIAL
CLEMENCY BOARD ACTING ON MY BEHALF.
I HEREBY DESIGNATE, DIRECT AND EMPOWER THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL, AS MY REPRESENTATIVE, TO SIGN EACH GRANT OF
PARDON TO THE PERSONS NAMED HEREIN UPON RECEIPT OF
CERTIFICATION FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY BOARD
THAT THE CONDITIONS FOR SIGNATURE OF SUCH GRANT
HAVE BEEN FULFILLED.
&
FORD
DONE AT THE CITY OF WASHINGTON THIS
DAY OF
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE
THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND
AND OF THE
INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES THE ONE HUNDRED
AND
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
GERALD R. FORD
President
STATEMENT OF CONDITIONS FOR EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY
PURSUANT TO PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION 4313 AND
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11803, A PARDON SHALL ISSUE TO THE
PERSONS NAMED HEREIN, SUBSEQUENT TO AND CONTINGENT
UPON THE COMPLETION OF THE PERIOD OF ALTERNATIVE
SERVICE SPECIFIED HEREIN, UPON CERTIFICATION BY THE
PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY BOARD.
NAME
PERIOD OF ALTERNATIVE SERVICE
FORD
GERALD
THE PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY BOARD SHALL CERTIFY TO
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THE SATISFACTORY COMPLETION
OF ALTERNATIVE SERVICE AS SPECIFIED ABOVE.
EXECUTIVE GRANT OF PARDON
UNDER THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN ME BY ARTICLE II,
SECTION 2 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED'STATES,
AND PURSUANT TO THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE
PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY BOARD, ESTABLISHED BY
PROCLAMATION 4313 AND EXECUTIVE ORDER 11803,
I HEREBY GRANT A FULL AND UNCONDITIONAL PARDON
TO THE FOLLOWING PERSONS:
FORD
BCRALD
LIBRARY
I FURTHER GRANT A FULL, UNCONDITIONAL COMMUTATION
OF SENTENCE TO THE FOLLOWING PERSONS:
I HEREBY DESIGNATE, DIRECT AND EMPOWER THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL, AS MY REPRESENTATIVE, TO SIGN EACH GRANT OF
PARDON TO THE PERSONS NAMED HEREIN.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHALL DECLARE THAT HIS
ACTION IS THE ACT OF THE PRESIDENT, BEING PERFORMED
AT MY DIRECTION
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF I HAVE HEREUNTO SIGNED MY
NAME AND CAUSED THE SEAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE TO BE AFFIXED.
DONE AT THE CITY OF WASHINGTON THIS
DAY OF
IN THE YEAR OF OUR
LORD ONE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED AND
AND OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF
THE UNITED STATES THE ONE HUNDRED AND
GERALD R. FORD
President
I CERTIFY THAT THERE ARE
APPLICATIONS
FOR EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY GRANTED HEREIN.
Attorney General
Part 202. Substantive Standards of the Presidential Clemency Board.
PREAMBLE
It is the intent of the Presidential Clemency Board to
provide notice to applicants, and to maximize public certainty
and predictability, about the substantive standards which the
Board will apply in recommending to the President proposed
dispositions of applications for executive clemency under Proclamation
4313 (published in the Federal Register on September 17, 1974).
It is further the intent of the Board to ensure equity and consistency
in the way that similarly situated applicants are treated.
The Presidential Clemency Board therefore herein
publishes the substantive standards to which it has committed
itself in the implementation of the clemency program. Applicants
for executive clemency under the program are invited to submit
evidence suggesting that one or more of the mitigating circumstances
listed below apply to their case, or that one or more of the aggra-
vating circumstances listed do not apply to their case. Applicants
are also invited to submit letters from third parties containing such
evidence, or to ask other people to write directly to the Board
on their behalf.
It is contemplated that the Board will weigh the factors
listed below in each individual case. It is not contemplated,
however, that any one of these factors will necessarily be
dispositive of a particular case, and the Board reserves the option
of considering other factors in mitigation not listed herein to be
dispositive of a particular case.
Section 202. 1 Purpose and scope.
This part articulates the standards which the Presidential
Clemency Board will employ in deciding whether to recommend
that the President grant executive clemency to a particular appli-
cant, and in then deciding whether that grant of clemency should
be conditional, and, if so, upon what specified period of alterna-
tive service.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
-2-
Section 202. 2 Board decision on whether or not to recommend
that the President grant executive clemency.
The first decision which the Board will reach, with
respect to an application before it ,is whether or not it will
recommend to the President that the applicant be granted execu-
tive clemency. In reaching that decision, the Board will take
notice of the presence of any of the aggravating circumstances
listed in Sec. 202. 3, and will further take notice of whether such
aggravating circumstances are balanced by the presence of any
of the mitigating circumstances listed in Sec. 202.4.
Unless there are aggravating circumstances not
balanced by mitigating circumstances, the Board will recommend
that the President grant executive clemency to each applicant.
Section 202. 3 Aggravating circumstances.
Presence of any of the aggravating circumstances
listed herein either will disqualify an individual for executive
clemency or will be considered by the Board as cause for recom-
mending to the President executive clemency conditioned upon
a length of alternative service exceeding the applicant's "baseline
period of alternative service, 11 as determined under Sec. 202.5.
Aggravating circumstances of which the Board will
take notice are:
(a) Prior adult criminal convictions.
(b) False statement by applicant to the Presidential Clemency
Board.
(c) Use of force by applicant collaterally to AWOL, desertion,
missing movement, or civilian draft evasion offense.
(d) Desertion during combat.
(e) Evidence that applicant committed the offense for obviously
manipulative and selfish reasons.
FORD & LIBRARY ULRALD
-3-
(f) Prior refusal to fulfill alternative service.
(g) Prior violation of probation or parole requirements.
Section 202. 4 Mitigating circumstances.
Presence of any of the mitigating circumstances
listed herein will be considered by the Board as cause for
recommending that the President grant executive clemency to
a particular applicant, and will in exceptional cases be further
considered as cause for recommending clemency conditioned
upon a period of alternative service less than the applicant's
"baseline period of alternative service, " as determined under
Sec. 202. 5.
Mitigating circumstances of which the Board will
take notice are:
(a) Applicant's lack of sufficient education or ability to under-
stand obligations, or remedies available, under the law.
(b) Personal and family hardship either at the time of the offense
or if the applicant were to perform alternative service.
(c) Mental or physical illness or condition, either at the time
of the offense or currently.
(d) Employment or volunteer activities of service to the public
since conviction or military discharge.
(e) Service-connected disability, wounds in combat, or decor-
ations for valor in combat.
(f) Tours of service in the war zone.
(g) Substantial evidence of personal or procedural unfairness
in treatment of applicant by Selective Service System or
by a military service.
(h) Denial of conscientious objector status, of other claim for
Selective Service exemption or deferment, or of a claim
FORD & GERALD LIBRARY
-4-
for hardship discharge, compassionate reassignment,
emergency leave, or other remedy available under military
law, on procedural, technical, or improper grounds, or
on grounds which have subsequently been held unlawful by
the judiciary.
(i) Evidence that an applicant acted in conscience, and not for
manipulative or selfish reasons.
(j) Voluntary submission to authorities by applicant.
Section 202. 5 Calculation of length of alternative service.
Having reached a decision to recommend that the
President grant executive clemency to a particular applicant,
the Board will then decide whether clemency should be conditioned
upon a specified period of alternative service and, if so, what
length that period should be.
(a) The starting point for calculation of length of alternative
service will be 24 months.
(b) That starting point will be reduced by three times the amount
of prison time served.
(c) That starting point will be further reduced by the amount of
prior alternative service performed, provided that a prescribed
period of alternative service has been satisfactorily completed.
(d) That starting point will be further reduced by the amount of
time served on probation or parole, provided that a prescribed
period of alternative service has been satisfactorily completed.
(e) The remainder of those three subtractions will be the "baseline
period of alternative service" applicable to a particular case
before the Board, provided that the baseline period of alternative
service shall not exceed a judge's sentence to imprisonment
in any case, and provided further that the baseline period of
alternative service shall be, notwithstanding the remainder
of the calculation above, not less than a minimum of three (3)
months.
RALD FORD LIBRAR
-5- - -
(f) In exceptional cases in which mitigating circumstances are
present, the Board may consider such mitigating circumstances
as cause for recommending clemency conditioned upon a
period of alternative service less than an applicant's baseline
period of alternative service.
(g) In cases in which aggravating circumstances are present
and are not, in the Board's judgment, balanced by mitigating
circumstances, the Board may consider such aggravating
circumstances as cause for recommending clemency conditioned
upon a period of alternative service exceeding, either by three
(3) additional months or by six (6) additional months, the
applicant's baseline period of alternative service.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Part 201 Administrative Procedures
Section 201. 1 Purpose and Scope
This subpart contains the regulations of the Presidential
Clemency Board, created pursuant to Executive Order 11803
(39 FR 33297) concerning the procedures by which the Board
will accept and process applications from individuals who avail
themselves of the opportunity to come within its jurisdiction.
Certain other matters are also treated, such as the assistance to be
given to individuals requesting determinations of jurisdiction, or
requesting information respecting those parts of the Presidential
Clemency Program which are administered by the Department of
Defense and the Department of Justice under Presidential Proclamation
4313 (39 FR 33293).
Section 201.2 General Definitions.
"Action attorney" means an attorney on the staff of the
Board who is assigned an applicant's case and is thereafter responsible
for all information-gathering and communications concerning that
applicant's case from the applicant's initial filing until final disposition
has been made by the Board.
"Applicant" means an individual who is subject to the
jurisdiction of the Board, and who has submitted an initial filing.
FORD & LIBRARY SERALD
- 2 -
"Board" means the Presidential Clemency Board as created
by Executive Order 11803, or any successor agencies.
Section 201.3 Initial Filing.
In order to comply with the requirements of Executive
Order 11803 as to timely application for consideration by the
Board, an individual must make an initial filing prior to January 31,
1975. The Board will consider sufficient as an initial filing any
written communication received from an individual or his representa- -
tive which requests consideration of the individual's specific ase
or which demonstrates an intention to request consideration. Oral
initial filings will be considered sufficient if reduced to writing and
received by the Board within thirty (30) calendar days.
Section 201.4 Application Form.
(a) Upon receipt of an initial filing a member of the
Board's staff will make a determination of probable jurisdiction.
Applicants who are clearly beyond the Board's jurisdiction will be so
notified in writing. An applicant who questions this adverse deter-
mination of probable jurisdiction should promptly write the General
Counsel, Presidential Clemency Board, The White House, Washington,
D.C. 20500, stating his reasons for questioning the determination.
The General Counsel of the Board shall make the final determination
of jurisdiction.
FORD & LIBRARY BERALD
- 3 -
(b) An applicant who has been notified that probable
jurisdiction does not lie in his case will be considered as having
made a timely filing should the final decision be that the Board
has jurisdiction over his case.
(c) Applicants who are within the probable jurisdiction
of the Board will be sent by mail:
(1) An application form (see appendix "a");
(2) Information about the Presidential Clemency
program and instructions for the preparation of
the application form (see appendix "b");
(3) A statement describing the Board's procedures
and method of determining cases.
(d) The applicant will be urged to return the completed
application form to the Board as soon as possible. In the absence of
extenuating circumstances, completed application forms must be
received by the Board within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt.
Section 201.5 Assignment of Action Attorney and case number,
and determination of jurisdiction.
(a) Upon receipt of all necessary information, the applicant's
case will be assigned to an Action Attorney, who will make a pre-
liminary determination of the Board's jurisdiction. If the Action
Attorney determines that the Board has jurisdiction over the
FORD & GERALD LIBRARY
applicant, a file for the applicant's case will be opened and a case
- 4 -
number for that file will be assigned. With the opening of the
file, the Action Attorney shall request from all appropriate
government agencies the relevant records and files pertaining
to the applicant's case before the Board.
(b) In normal cases, the relevant records and files
will include for civilian cases the applicant's files from the
Selective Service System and the Bureau of Prisons; and for
military cases the applicant's military personnel records, military
clemency folder, and record of court martial. Applicants may
request that the Board consider other pertinent files, but such
applicant-requested files will not be made available to the applicant
and his representative as of right.
(c) Where the initial filing contains adequate information,
Board staff may assign a case number and request records and files
prior to receipt of the completed application form.
(d) If the Action Attorney determines that probable juris-
diction does not exist, he will promptly notify the applicant in
writing, stating the reasons therefor.
(e) An applicant who questions this adverse determination
of jurisdiction should write the General Counsel of the Board in
accordance with the provisions of Section 201. 4(a).
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
- 5 -
Section 201. 6 Initial Summary.
(a) Upon receipt of the necessary records and files,
the Action Attorney will prepare an initial summary of the
applicant's case. The files, records, and any additional
sources used in preparing the initial summary will be noted
thereupon; no material not so noted will be used in its preparation.
The initial summary shall include the name and business telephone
number of the Action Attorney who prepared it, and who may be
contacted by the applicant or his representative.
(b) The initial summary shall be sent by certified mail
to the applicant. The summary will be accompanied by an instruction
sheet describing the method by which the summary was prepared,
and by a copy of the guidelines that have been adopted by the Board
for the determination of cases. Applicants will be requested to
review the initial summary for accuracy and completeness, and
advised of their right to submit additional sworn or unsworn
material. Such additional material may be submitted in any length,
but should be accompanied by a summary of not more than three (3)
signle-spaced, typewritten, letter-sized pages in length. If a
summary of suitable length is not submitted with the additional
material, the Action Attorney will prepare such a summary.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
- 6 -
(c) At any time after the mailing to the applicant of his
initial summary, the applicant's complete Board file, and the files
from which the summary was prepared, may be examined at the
offices of the Board by the applicant, his representative, or by any
member of the Board. An applicant or his representative may submit
evidence of inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information in the
complete Board file.
(d) An applicant's case will be considered ready for consider- -
ation by the Board not earlier than twenty (20) days after the initial
summary has been received by the applicant. Material which amends
or supplements the applicant's initial summary must therefore be re-
ceived by the Board within twenty (20) days to insure that it will be
considered, unless within that period the applicant requests and receives
permission for an extension. Permission for late filing shall be liberally
granted, if the request is received prior to Board action.
Section 201.7 Final Summary.
(a) Upon receipt of the applicant's response to the initial
summary, the Action Attorney will note such amendments, supplements,
or corrections on the initial summary as are indicated by the applicant.
(b) The final summary shall then consist of the initial
summary with appropriate amendments and additions, and the summary
of the materials submitted by the applicant as described in Sec. 201 6(c).
FORD & LIBRA
-7-
Section 201. 8 Consideration before the Board.
(a) At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Presidential
Clemency Board, a quorum of at least five (5) members being present,
the Board will consider the applicant's case.
(b) The Action Attorney will present to the Board, a brief
statement of the fira 1 summary of the applicant's case. The Action
Attorney will then stand ready to answer from the complete file any
questions from the members of the Board concerning the applicant's
case.
(c) At the Board's discretion, it may permit an applicant
or his representative to present before the Board an oral statement,
not to exceed ten (10) minutes in length. Neither applicant nor his
representative may be present when the Board begins deliberations,
but should remain available for further consultation immediately
thereafter for a period not to exceed one hour.
(d) After due deliberation, the Boa rd will decide upon its
recommendation to the President concerning the applicant's case,
stating the reasons for its recommendation.
Section 201. 9 Recommendations to the President.
(a) At appropriate intervals, the Chairman of the Board
FORD & LIBRARY SERALD
-8-
will submit to the President certain master warrants listing the
names of applicants recommended for executive clemency, and a
list of the names of applicants considered by the Board but not
recommended for clemency. The Chairman will also submit such
terms and conditions for executive clemency, if any, that have been
recommended in each case by the Board.
(b) Following action by the President, the Board will send
notice of such action in writing to all persons whose names were
submitted to the President. Persons not receiving executive clemency
will be so notified.
Section 201.10 Reconsideration.
(a) An applicant may petition the Board for reconsideration
of his grant or denial of executive clemency, or of the terms and
conditions thereof.
(b) Such petitions for reconsideration, including any supple-
mentary material, must be received by the Board within thirty (30)
days of the mailing of the notification in Section 201. 9(b).
(c) At a regularly scheduled Board meeting, a quorum being
present, the Board will consider the applicant's petition for reconsideration.
(d) In appropriate cases, the Board may permit an appli-
cant or his representative to present before the Board an oral state-
ment not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes in length.
FORD i LIBRARY UERALD
-9-
(e) After due deliberation, the Board may either:
(1) as to any person granted executive clemency, let
stand or mitigate the terms and conditions upon which executive
clemency was granted;
(2) as toany person denied executive clemency, recommend
to the President that he grant executive clemency in accordance with
such terms and conditions as may be appropriate; or
(3) as to any person denied executive clemency, again not
to recommend the applicant for executive clemency.
Section 201. 11 Referral to appropriate agencies.
After the expiration of the period allowed for petitions
for reconsideration, the Chairman of the Board shall forward for
further action to the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force,
the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, the Director of
the Selective Service System, and the Attorney General, as appropriate,
the President's determination as to each recipient of executive clemency,
Section 201. 12 Confidentiality of communications.
The Board has determined that it will take all steps possible
to protect the privacy of applicants and potential applicants to the
Presidential clemency program. No personal information concerning
an applicant or potential applicant and related to the Presidential
clemency program will be made known to any agency, organization,
GERALD R. FORD
or individual, whether public or private, unless such disclosure is
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necessary for the normal and proper functioning of the Presidential
[N.B.] Clemency Board. However, information which reveals the existence
of a violation of law (other than an offense subject to the Presidential
clemency program) will of necessity be forwarded to the appropriate
authorities.
(d) In order to have his case considered by the Board,
an applicant need submit only information sufficient for a determination
of jurisdiction, and for the retrieval of necessary official records
and files. The application form will therefore require the applicant's
name; date of birth; selective service number; military service and
service number, if applicable; information concerning the draft evasion
offenses or absence-related military offenses and the disposition thereof;
and the mailing address of either the applicant or his representative.
If the applicant submits such information as part of his initial filing,
the completion of the application form itself is not necessary.
(d) The applicant will be urged to return the completed appli-
cation form to the Board as soon as possible. In the absence of extenu-
ating circumstances, completed application forms must be received
by the Board within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt.
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Section 201. 13 Representation Before the Board.
(a) Although an applicant may bring his case before the
Board without a representative or legal counsel, each applicant
is entitled to representation and will be encouraged to seek legal
counsel experienced in military or selective service law. Upon
request, Board staff will attempt to refer an applicant to a skilled
volunteer representation.
(b) An applicant who does not wish to file his application
in person may have his representative do so on his behalf.
Section 201.14 Requests for Information About the Clemency Program.
(a) Upon receipt by the Board of an oral or written request
for information or consideration concerning an individual who is
clearly beyond the jurisdiction of the Board, a member of the
Board's staff shall inform the individual
(1) that jurisdiction does not lie;
(2) whether jurisdiction may lie within the Presidential
clemency program, and if so, with which agency;
(3) that in the event the individual prefers not to
contact personally such other agency that an
Action Attorney will obtain from such other agency
information concerning the individual's status with
respect to the Presidential clemency program, and
FORDS : LIBRARY GERALD
provide to the individual that information.
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(b) The Action Attorney shall submit to the Executive
Secretariat of the Presidential Clemency Board a summary of the
communication with, and information provided to, such
individuals.
FORD & LIBRARY OF
Case #7
This applicant is white and married. He was born in the South
and is one of eight children. Because he comes from a broken
home he dropped out of school in the 11th grade and has had to
be self-sufficient since he was very young. He moved often
but did not always tell his draft board of his new addresses. He
was tried for failing to report his address and pleaded guilty.
However, he explained that the draft had ended and he thought
it was no longer necessary to contact his draft board. As a
result he was given a two year suspended sentence on condition
that he work for six months in a non-profit charitable job. He
has satisfactorily completed that work.
Disposition: Pardon
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Case #9
This applicant is white and in his mid-twenties. He grew up in
a large family from Appalachia. He completed junior college,
met a Jehovah's Witness missionary, converted, and married
her. He then applied for conscientious objector status. His
claim was denied because it was made after he received his
induction notice. He reported for induction but failed to step
forward and take the oath. He turned himself in and stated he
would do alternative service. However, he was given a 3 1/2
year sentence. He has now served 11 months.
Disposition: Pardon
FORD i LIBRARY GERALD
Case #15
This applicant is black, and from the South. He has been
steadily employed since graduating from high school. His
entire family is of the Muslim faith, which prohibits
military or alternative service. The applicant reported
for induction, but thereafter refused to step forward. He
was sentenced to three years in prison, of which he has
served five months.
Disposition: Pardon
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Case #16
This applicant is white and in his late twenties. He was born in
South America to parents who were United States citizens. He
finished high school and started junior college. He is married
and expecting his second child. He claimed he was against the
Vietnam War and all wars, but he was denied his conscientious
objector status. When ordered for induction he appeared but
refused to step forward. He said he loved his country and would
perform alternative service. He was sentenced to two years in
prison and has served 8 months.
Disposition: Pardon
FORD i LIBRARY 03
Case #20
This applicant is black, grew up in the Midwest, and is the sole
support of his mother, who has been a semi-invalid since being
severely burned many years ago. He did not finish the tenth grade.
On the day prior to his induction date, he requested, but was
denied, postponement of induction due to his mother's illness. He
failed to report for induction, and was later convicted and sen-
tenced to three years in prison. At the time of sentencing, the
applicant said he was willing to join the Army or perform alterna-
tive service. During his 13 months incarceration he has partici-
pated in an unescorted overnight furlough program.
Disposition: Pardon
FORD & LIBRARY 07"
Case #5
This applicant is white and single, and from the Midwest.
He only completed the 11th grade. Although he applied to
his draft board for conscientious objector status, his
application was not timely and his draft board denied it.
Later, he also tried to disqualify himself from service for
an entirely different reason. When ordered to report for
induction, the applicant did so, but refused induction on
three occasions. He remained in the area and stood trial.
He has served one year of a 4 to 6 year sentence under the
provisions of the Federal Youth Corrections Act.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 3 months alternative service.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Case #17
This applicant is white and in his middle twenties. He was raised
in the eastern United States in a closely knit family. The applicant
is a college graduate, and has a teaching certificate. He partici-
pated in a Peace Corps training program. He was ordered to
report for induction but claims that he did not report because
there was no draft call that month. He returned to his job, as
a substitute teacher, and did not hear again from his draft board.
It appears that he never attempted to evade authorities. The
applicant stood trial for failure to report for induction and was
sentenced to 60 days in prison. He served twenty days.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 3 months alternative service.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Case #24
This applicant is black and comes from a poor family in the South.
His father died when he was an infant and his mother died when he
was in his teens. The applicant completed 1 1/2 years of college,
but left because of poor grades. He failed to keep his draft board
informed of his address. When he was arrested, he claimed he
was unsuited for the service and that he did not want to serve
because he was afraid he would receive a dishonorable discharge.
He was sentenced to three years in prison and has served over
12 months.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 3 months alternative service.
SEXALO FORD LISRAPY
Case #25
This applicant is black and in his mid-twenties. He completed 3
years of college and then went to Canada because he did not agree
with the war in Vietnam. After 18 months, he returned voluntarily
"to work things out. " A few months later he married his college
sweetheart. He says he was told that his case would be dropped
if he reported for induction. The draft ended before he could meet
this condition. He tried to enlist in the National Guard but was
rejected. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and has served
8 1/2 months.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 3 months alternative service.
FORD is LIBRARY 978839
Case #4
This applicant is white and comes from a large family in
the Mid-west. His parents were divorced when he was
young. He left high school after the 11th grade and went
to work as a store clerk. He failed to report for his
physical when ordered. Six months later he converted
to the Jehovah's Witness faith, and then refused to appear
for induction. He was convicted and sentenced to 5
years. He has now served 10 months.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 6 months alternative service.
FORD & LIBRARY CERALO
Case #8
This applicant, who is white and married, grew up in the Northeast
in a large religious family. He moved to California, and attended
junior college there. He was ordered to report for induction by his
home town draft board, but refused because of his strong feelings
against killing. He asserts that five months after that induction
notice he filed for conscientious objector status. He worked in a
hospital for one and one-half years after the induction notice, until
he was tried and convicted for failing to keep his local draft board
informed of his current address. He was sentenced to thirty days
in jail, to be served on weekends, and has served fourteen days of
the sentence.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 6 months alternative service.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Case #11
This applicant, in his middle twenties, is Mexican. His
parents are divorced. He immigrated to the southwestern
United States when he was a teenager and completed the
11th grade. He ran away from home. When he returned he
found out he was a fugitive because he had failed to report
for induction. He turned himself in and was sentenced to
a 4 - 6 year term. He served six months in prison. He
desires to enlist in the United States Armed Forces and
become an American citizen.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, six months alternative service.
FORD & LIBRARY 078839
Case #13
This applicant is white and was born in the South. He completed
high school. He surrendered when he learned that he was charged
with failing to keep his draft board notified of his address. He
claimed his mother had promised to accept his mail but failed to
report her new address to his draft board when the family moved.
He was sentenced to 6 months in prison and has now served three.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 6 months alternative service.
GERALD FORD LIBRART
Case #19
This applicant is white and in his middle twenties. His father died
when he was young and he was raised by his mother, during which
time the family moved frequently. He only had a 10th grade educa-
tion. The applicant left home shortly before he was ordered to re-
port for induction. About five years later he was arrested and con-
victed of failure to keep his draft board informed of his address.
He was sentenced to six months in prison, half of which has been
served.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 6 months alternative service.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Case #23
This applicant is black, in his mid-twenties and comes from the
South. He never knew his natural parents and his step-father died
when the applicant was in high school. His step-mother is severely
ill and relies upon him for financial support. He lost his college
deferment for failing to meet Selective Service requirements. He
then applied for a hardship determent based on his step-mother's
illness but this was denied. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison
and has served 6 months.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 6 months alternative service.
FORD i LIBRARY 077839
Case #14
This applicant is white and is from the South. His draft board granted
him conscientious objector status and he began alternative service in
a hospital. He left this job after conflict with his superior, and was
later arrested. He was released on bond, but failed to appear in
court. When he was arrested a year and a half later, he was married
and steadily employed. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and
has served 7 months. His employer has promised to give the applicant
his old job back upon his release.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 10 months alternative service.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Case #18
This white applicant, in his early twenties, was raised in an
unstable family environment in the Southeast. He dropped out
of school in the eighth grade, and has since held jobs of short
duration. He twice failed to report for a pre-induction physical
examination. Thereafter he was ordered to report for induction.
The applicant failed to report and when located by the F. B.I., a
year later, indicated that he had not intentionally evaded the
draft. The U.S. Attorney advised him that if he joined the
service within a month he would not be prosecuted. The applicant
responded that he would rather not serve in the Army and inquired
as to civilian service. He then took Navy qualifying tests but was
found unqualified for enlistment because of his low test scores and
inadquate education. He was thereafter convicted of failing to
report for induction and has served 4 days of his 2 year sentence.
Disposition: Executive Clemency, 1 year alternative service.
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
Case #10
This black applicant is in his early twenties. He grew up
in an urban ghetto located in a northern city and comes
from a broken home. He dropped out of school in the 8th
1
grade and worked as a laborer. He was convicted of
failing to register with Selective Service and was initially
placed on probation. He was later convicted in state court
of a non-violent offense and also put on probation. Because
of his state offense his federal probation was revoked. He
has served 10 months of his 4 - 6 year term.
Disposition: Commutation
FORD is LIBRARY BERALD
ASTRINGENT