Sharman Connors, age 13, of Lynn, Mass., for her question:

WHAT IS AMNESTY?

In international law, amnesty is an act of effacing and forgetting of past offenses and is granted by the government to persons who have been guilty of neglect or crime.

Amnesty is granted to for rebellious acts against the state. Amnesty differs from pardon in that amnesty causes the crime to be forgotten, whereas pardon, given after a conviction, exempts the criminal from further punishment. Amnesty is intended to restore tranquility in the state.

President Andrew Johnson extended some instances of amnesty after the American Civil War and amnesty also was granted to certain wartime offenders after the first and second world wars.

Fulfillment of certain obligations within a specified period may be a condition for receiving amnesty.

In 1974, President Gerald Ford instituted a program for Vietnam War deserters and draft evaders, requiring them to spend two years doing public service work as the condition for amnesty. Few people took advantage of these terms within the time allowed for the program.