Federal clemency record
Commutation · December 25, 1921
Granted by Warren G. Harding (Republican) to Eugene Victor Debs
Summary
Eugene Victor Debs received a commutation of his sentence on December 25, 1921, from President Warren G. Harding, reducing his 10-year imprisonment sentence imposed in 1918 for conviction in the Northern District of Ohio. Debs had been convicted on ten counts under the Espionage Act of 1917, as amended by the Sedition Act of 1918, for a speech delivered in Canton, Ohio on June 16, 1918, opposing American participation in World War I.
Offense
Conviction under the Espionage Act of 1917 for a speech opposing American participation in World War I, delivered in Canton, Ohio in June 1918. Sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
Northern District of Ohio · 1918
- Espionage Act of 1917 — Conviction on ten counts of speech opposing American participation in World War I, including a June 16, 1918 address in Canton, Ohio. (Espionage Act of 1917, § 3 (40 Stat. 219), as amended by the Sedition Act of 1918)
Original sentence
120 months imprisonment
Sentenced September 14, 1918 · Northern District of Ohio