SACRAMENTO, CA - Gov. Jerry Brown has issued pardons to 79 convicted felons who served their sentences and committed no other crimes for at least a decade.
Brown announced the pardons Monday. Most of the people were convicted of drug crimes; others had convictions for theft, robbery, driving under the influence and other such offenses.
Brown singled out 61-year-old Thomas George Pfleger of Newport Beach for his philanthropic work.
A 79-year-old man was pardoned for a robbery he committed more than half a century ago. And a 76-year-old Arkansas prison chaplain was pardoned for drug possession and robbery in the 1960s.
A pardon does not erase a criminal record, but it can restore some rights, which include owning firearms unless the conviction involved the use of a dangerous weapon.
The Associated Press