Forum, Sep. 23, 1974

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Mr. Chessman had been convicted of raping two girls on two separate occasions at the point of a gun. As attorney general I had fought hard for affirmance of the conviction and the execution of Mr. Chessman. I then became Governor and was faced with a difficult problem—not of justice but of clemency (mercy). I felt Mr. Chessman was guilty, but that the death penalty was too severe because it had been so long delayed. On the very eve of his execution I granted a 60-day reprieve. This was attacked by almost every newspaper in the state of California. You would have thought I was guilty of the offenses rather than the person to whom I gave the reprieve. Wherever I went I was booed. I was in somewhat the same position in which President Ford now finds himself. My first year had been a great success and I enjoyed a high popularity rating in the polls. After this act of mercy, I never really recovered. I did defeat Richard Nixon in 1962, but if I had not commuted Mr. Chessman's sentence, I don't think Richard Nixon would ever have been a candidate against me.

Jerry Ford has unquestionably hurt himself with the American people. A great many think there might have been a deal, or if not a deal then his timing was so stupid and unintelligent that he hasn't got what it takes to be President. Whatever the situation, Ford has crossed the Rubicon as I did, and he will pay the heavy penalties of never regaining the popularity he had during the first weeks of his presidency.

Edmund G. Brown

Beverly Hills, Calif.

The final coverup.

W. Ward Fearnside

Wellesley Hills, Mass.

I'm satisfied that justice has been served. I have mixed emotions, but it is undoubtedly good for the country that we do not have to continue as a divided nation. History will take care of Nixon without a formal judicial finding. His Administration will go down as one of the worst in history because of corruption. The pardon of Nixon should be matched by the granting of unconditional amnesty to those who resisted service in the Viet Nam War. The young men who refused to take part in that war for reasons of conscience have an even higher right to amnesty and pardon than Nixon.

Joseph Crangle

Chairman

Democratic State Committee

Buffalo

America's greatest President was a man of compassion. A century later we have a new President who is also a man of compassion. Long after the vultures and biodegradables have departed, the pardon of Richard Nixon by President Ford will go down in history as the mark of a man who is both courageous and decisive.

A.E. Alexander, M.D.

New York City

Justice may certainly be tempered by mercy, but there can be no such thing as mercy until justice has been accomplished by the courts. Since it circumvented justice, Mr. Ford's act was merely indulgent favoritism, a bland and unworthy substitute for mercy. Real mercy could have modified Richard Nixon's legal fate, but it would not have shielded him from the law and his responsibility to disclose the truth.

Particularly troubling to me as a Christian is the fact that President Ford appeals to his conscience "as a humble servant of God" in granting this pardon. Unlike Mr. Ford, I serve a God who is a God of justice as well as a God of mercy. By him, kings and paupers shall one day be judged alike.