They Refuse To Be Criminals: Parole and the Conscientious Objector (Nur Mahal Publication No. 1)
West Chester, Pennsylvania: Published by the author, ©1946. First Edition. A privately printed account of imprisoned American conscientious objectors during World War II, written by pacifist Edward C. M. Richards and centered particularly on the cases of five young men prosecuted under the Selective Training and Service Act: Walter D. Karr, Arthur A. Dole, Jr., William L. Richards (the author's son), Harold E. Miller, and Arnold C. Satterthwait. Richards begins with their July 1942 appearance in federal court in Dayton, Ohio, then turns to the federal parole system and the unusual position adopted by conscientious objectors who refused not only military service but parole when its conditions required them to accept the status and restrictions imposed upon ordinary criminal offenders. The pamphlet reproduces correspondence with prison and Justice Department officials and examples of federal parole documents, presenting the men's resistance as an extension of their conscientious objection: having denied that obedience to conscience constituted a crime, they would not obtain freedom by accepting conditions premised upon their criminality.
Stapled, textured wrappers, 48 pp., four photographic portraits. Minor red bleed to the top corner of the title page, else a near fine copy. Item #15359
Price: $45.00