Executive Order 11803—Establishing a Clemency Board to Review Certain Convictions of Persons Under Section 12 or 6 (j) of the Military Selective Service Act and Certain Discharges Issued Because of, and Certain Convictions for, Violations of Article 85, 86, or 87 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and to Make Recommendations for Executive Clemency with Respect Thereto
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States by Section 2 of Article II of the Constitution of the United States, and in the interest of the internal management of the Government, it is ordered as follows:
SECTION 1. There is hereby established in the Executive Office of the President a board of 9 members, which shall be known as the Presidential Clemency Board. The members of the Board shall be appointed by the President, who shall also designate its Chairman.
SEC. 2. The Board, under such regulations as it may prescribe, shall examine the cases of persons who apply for Executive clemency prior to January 31, 1975, and who (i) have been convicted of violating Section 12 or 6(j) of the Military Selective Service Act (50 App. U.S.C. § 462), or of any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to that section, for acts committed between August 4, 1964 and March 28, 1973, inclusive, or (ii) have received punitive or undesirable discharges as a consequence of violations of Article 85, 86 or 87 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (10 U.S.C. §§ 885, 886, 887) that occurred between August 4, 1964 and March 28, 1973, inclusive, or are serving sentences of confinement for such violations. The Board will only consider the cases of Military Selective Service Act violators who were convicted of unlawfully failing (i) to register or register on time, (ii) to keep the local board informed of their current address, (iii) to report for or submit to preinduction or induction examination, (iv) to report for or submit to induction itself, or (v) to report for or submit to, or complete service under Section 6 (j) of such Act. However, the Board will not consider the cases of individuals who are precluded from re-entering the United States under 8 U.S.C. 1182(a) (22) or other law.
SEC. 3. The Board shall report to the President its findings and recommendations as to whether Executive clemency should be granted or denied in any case. If clemency is recommended, the Board shall also recommend the form that such clemency should take, including clemency conditioned upon a period of alternative service in the national interest. In the case of an individual discharged from the armed forces with a punitive or undesirable discharge, the Board may recommend to the President that a clemency discharge be substituted for a punitive or undesirable discharge. Determination of any period of alternate service shall be in accord with the Proclamation announcing a program for the return of Vietnam era draft evaders and military deserters.
SEC. 4. The Board shall give priority consideration to those applicants who are presently confined and have been convicted only of an offense set forth in section 2 of this order, and who have no outstanding criminal charges.
SEC. 5. Each member of the Board, except any member who then receives other compensation from the United States, may receive compensation for each day he or she is engaged upon the work of the Board at not to exceed the daily rate now or hereafter prescribed by law for persons and positions in GS-18, as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 3109), and may also receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 5703) for persons in the government service employed intermittently.
SEC. 6. Necessary expenses of the Board may be paid from the Unanticipated Personnel Needs Fund of the President or from such other funds as may be available.
SEC. 7. Necessary administrative services and support may be provided the Board by the General Services Administration on a reimbursable basis.
SEC. 8. All departments and agencies in the Executive branch are authorized and directed to cooperate with the Board in its work, and to furnish the Board all appropriate information and assistance, to the extent permitted by law.
SEC. 9. The Board shall submit its final recommendations to the President not later than December 31, 1976, at which time it shall cease to exist.
GERALD R. FORD
The White House,
September 16, 1974.
NOTE: The White House announced the appointment of the following persons as members of the Presidential Clemency Board:
DR. RALPH ADAMS, 59, educator, has been president of Troy State University in Troy, Ala., for 10 years. He is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College with LL.B. and J.D. degrees from the University of Alabama, and a brigadier general, Air National Guard of Alabama.
JAMES P. DOUGOVITA, 28, is a full-time teaching aide of minority students in the department of applied technology, Michigan Technological University. Mr. Dougovita is a veteran and has been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and is now a captain in the Michigan National Guard.
ROBERT H. FINCH, 51, is a lawyer and partner in the firm of McKenna, Fitting & Finch in Los Angeles, Calif. He was formerly Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and Counsellor to President Nixon.
CHARLES E. GOODELL, 48-Chairman-is a former Senator from New York who is currently in the private practice of law. He was a Ford Foundation Fellow at Yale and was a graduate of Williams College.
REV. THEODORE M. HESBURGH, 57, is president, University of Notre Dame, and holds honorary degrees from numerous colleges and universities. He is a permanent Vatican delegate. He has served as Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and as a member of the Committee on an All-Volunteer Armed Force.
VERNON E. JORDAN, 39, is executive director of the National Urban League, an organization concerned with the advancement of the minority groups. Mr. Jordan is a lawyer by profession and served previously as the executive director of the United Negro College Fund, director of the voter education project, Southern Regional Council, and as Attorney-Consultant in the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity.
JAMES MAVE, 31, is executive director of Paralyzed Veterans of America in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, Va., and received his master's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.
AIDA CASANAS O'CONNOR, 52, is a woman lawyer with a master of laws degree from George Washington University, Washington, D.C. She is a member of the Bar of the State of New York, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Presently she is assistant counsel to the New York State division of housing and community renewal in New York City.
GEN. LEWIS W. WALT, USMC (Ret.), 61, retired after 34 years in the Marine Corps and is a veteran of the Second World War, the Korean and Vietnamese wars. He was an Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He has received the Navy Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and numerous other military decorations.
Gerald R. Ford, Executive Order 11803—Establishing a Clemency Board to Review Certain Convictions of Persons Under Section 12 or 6 (j) of the Military Selective Service Act and Certain Discharges Issued Because of, and Certain Convictions for, Violations of Article 85, 86, or 87 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and to Make Recommendations for Executive Clemency with Respect Thereto Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/268748