Summary
Eugene Victor Debs was convicted in federal court under the Espionage Act of 1917 for a speech opposing American participation in World War I delivered in Canton, Ohio in June 1918. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. On December 25, 1921, President Warren G. Harding commuted Debs's sentence.
Grant timeline
Clemency record
Commutation · December 25, 1921
Granted by Warren G. Harding (Republican)
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.
Counts of conviction
- 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).
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