NCC Clemency Counseling Program Extended
Diocesan Press Service. January 31, 1975 [75042]
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The one-month extension of President Gerald Ford's Clemency Program to March 1 means the churches' clemency counseling program will also be extended a month, the Rev. Richard Killmer announced.
According to Mr. Killmer, director of Special Ministries/Vietnam Generation for the National Council of Churches (NCC), all draft evaders who are uncertain about their status are urged by the NCC to call the Clemency Information Center in the U.S. : 317/635-8259, collect; or the War Resister Information Program in Canada : 800/665-8885, toll-free, to determine if they are under indictment or investigation by the Department of Justice for draft violation.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts shared with the churches' centers the list of men under indictment which his Senate Committee on Practices and Procedures obtained from the Justice Department.
The list shows a total of 4,400 men under indictment, 1,800 less than the previous list last fall. This marks the first time that a non-government agency can accurately inform the men involved whether or not they are subject to prosecution.
Mr. Killmer reported that the centers are "swamped with calls," with approximately 300 calls a day coming in to the U.S. counseling center and another 200 a day to the Canadian center.