Governor Brown 105 Pardons - Gov. Jerry Brown has once again didn't fail to continue his Christmas Eve tradition of issuing pardons. Wednesday night, Governor Brown 105 pardons were granted mostly those who have been convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and burglary more than a decade later, reports CBS Local.
Governor Brown's 105 pardons were also reportedly given to a handful of felons guilty of violent crimes, including assault with a deadly weapon and solicitation for murder.
All of those involved in Governor Brown's 105 pardons have completed their sentences. They were released from custody at least a decade ago and have "demonstrated exemplary behavior and lived productive, law-abiding lives following their conviction," according to Brown's office.
"It's a second chance," said Francois Dominick about Governor Brown's 105 pardons. Dominick is a Bay Area native who won a pardon from the governor. He is now working as a lifeguard and actor in Los Angeles.
"That's what it is. I'm employed and doing the right thing and haven't been in any trouble. I got my second chance, and I won't blow it," he added.
Dominick was sentenced in 1998 in Santa Clara County for perjury. He supplied false documents to the Department of Motor Vehicles in order to get a driver's license. He served two years of probation and added that he could not remember why he was trying to get a fake ID.
He said however that his conviction has since followed him everywhere.
"You always have to admit you are a felon," he said. "If the job involves handling money, you probably aren't getting the job. And it's embarrassing. It's tough to get a job, even small, low-paying jobs."
Despite the Governor Brown 105 pardons, he later retracted one pardon hours later after he learned that a man had not disclosed recent discipline by financial regulators, said a spokesman.
The retraction from the Governor Brown 105 pardons was issued to Glen William Carnes.
According to governor's spokesman Evan Westrup, the retraction was based on a court-issued certificate of rehabilitation. The pardon for a drug-related conviction that Carnes received as a teenager in 1998 had apparently not yet been signed by the Secretary of State. It was reportedly withdrawn after an inquiry by the Los Angeles Times.
Wednesday evening, Carnes was reached by The Associated Press and asked about his retraction from Governor Brown's 105 pardons. He was reportedly sitting down with his children, wife, and family from out of town and said, "I cannot believe this is happening, I've waited 20 years for this."
He added that he would be contacting the governor's office Friday to challenge the retraction, the only one from Governor Brown's 105 pardons.
"This is wrong," he said.
The retraction puts the total number of the traditional Christmas Eve pardons to 104, according to the Associated Press.
All those included in the Governor Brown 105 pardons, except for Carnes' retraction, had completed their sentences and had been released from custody for more than a decade without committing additional crimes.
Governor Brown 105 pardons Christmas Eve, in addition to 63 granted on Good Friday in April, bring the Democratic governor's pardons to a total of 510 since 2011, according to the San Francisco Gate.
In 2013, his 192 pardons reportedly marked the most clemencies by a California governor since 1959, when his father, Pat Brown, held office. The practice had actually been commonplace until the 1990s.
Brown just revived the practice since taking office in 2011.
A gubernatorial pardon, such as Governor Brown's 105 pardons, does not necessarily erase a conviction. However, it restores a man certain rights, such as allowing serving on a jury and the ability to own a gun, unless convicted of a crime involving a dangerous weapon. A pardon also allows a man to work as a county probation officer or state parole agent.
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