Gov. Jerry Brown pardons Robert Downey Jr. for 1990s drug offenses

[Eugene]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Actor Robert Downey Jr., who spent time behind bars in the late 1990s on drug convictions, received a Christmas Eve pardon from Gov. Jerry Brown, effectively scrubbing his criminal record clean.

The actor was one of 91 people to whom the governor granted clemency for past crimes, most of them minor drug offenses that are no longer felonies under California law. It has become an annual Christmas Eve tradition: official proclamations for men and women who previously served time for mostly nonviolent crimes.

Downey had a long history of problems with drugs and the law, including repeated arrests in 1996. In total, the actor served two years, eight months, and in 2002 he completed his parole.

In October, Downey, perhaps best known for his role as Iron Man in a series of Marvel films, obtained an order from a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, finding that he has since "lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character, and conducted himself as a law-abiding citizen."

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Read more: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-jerry-brown-robert-downey-jr-pardon-20151224-story.html

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By Paige St. John
DECEMBER 24, 2015, 10:55 AM | REPORTING FROM SACRAMENTO

[truthisfreedom]

1. Merry Christmas Robert Downey Junior!

Love you in the Iron Man movies.

[yeoman6987]

2. Thank you governor Brown for doing the right thing

[liberalnarb]

23. Downey was the one who said his jail time

Turned him into a republican. Maybe he'll rethink that

[4lbs]

35. Interesting, since Robert Downey Jr. was arrested and convicted while California was under a

Republican administration in the 1990s.

Pete Wilson was the Governor, a Republican.

Dan Lungren was the Attorney General, a Republican.

[liberalnarb]

38. I heard it over on this site

http://hollowverse.com/robert-downey-jr/

[oberliner]

3. It's good to be rich and famous

Special rules apply to you that don't apply to the rest of us.

[onwardsand upwards]

9. That's true in general, but ...

... in this case, he was just one of ninety-one.

[oberliner]

10. The other 90 don't get their own headlines in the LA Times

And people saying "Hooray for Ironman" at the news.

[onwardsand upwards]

14. Is getting a headline in the LA times the issue, then?

I thought it was the pardon!

[oberliner]

21. I guess there is not really an issue

It just seems like because people like him in movies that he gets looked at through a different (and more positive) lens.

[LynneSin]

13. Really? Was that necessary?

There were 91 people pardoned, were they all wealthy like Downey? And if the Governor is pardoning those who have served their time after doing jail time for non-violent crimes, why should Downey's name be excluded just because of his wealth? If Downey's wealth had any power he could have had this done a decade ago whe Schwartznegger was Governor, asking for a favor from one actor to another.

Downey struggled with sobriety but it is good to see him turn his life around. I know so many kids love his Ironman movies.

And congrats to the other 90 men and women in California who also received pardons.

[oberliner]

20. It just seems like he gets cut a lot of slack by the public because they like him in movies

It rubs me the wrong way - but that is probably just my problem.

[LynneSin]

27. If he was the only one pardoned, I'd be just as upset

but there were 90 other people who were also on that list. He has every right to be considered since he too is a non-violent criminal who has served his time. The fact that he is extremely wealthy is the only thing that sets him apart from the other 90 who were also pardoned.

So please do not let this upset you. He deserved it and he waited almost 2 decades to actually get this pardon (jail term was done in 1996). So it's not like his celebrity status played him any favors of getting bumped up to the top of the list ahead of others.

[LeftyMom]

18. The rest of their convictions probably weren't on the front of half the magazines in the checkout

lane, either.

[oberliner]

19. True

I just think people like him get more sympathy from folks because they like him in movies.

[Le Taz Hot]

36. First thing I thought as well.

Must be nice to be rich and white with connections. I've known many substance abusers who have been clean and sober for decades now, turned their lives around, have become productive members of society yet . . . no pardon.

[Bluenorthwest]

7. You are incorrect, he is not a Republican and is in fact a Democratic donor.

Sorry to disappoint.

[EL34x4]

37. He owes his comeback to Mel Gibson

Gibson provided the insurance costs for Downey for one of his first post-sobriety acting roles, opening the door for him to get back on his feet.

[Bluenorthwest]

39. Big giant check to Obama 2012. You are confused.

nt

[OKNancy]

17. I read he donated to Obama

eta: looked for a link

http://www.mtv.com/news/1684924/president-obama-robert-downey-jr-fundraiser/

[Spitfire of ATJ]

5. I get sick of people acting like snorting a line is the same as robbing a bank.

[OnlinePoker]

6. How about pardoning everyone with minor drug offenses

I'm sure there are a hell of a lot more than 91 in California who have "lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character, and conducted himself as a law-abiding citizen." And a lot of them probably spent a lot less time in jail than Downey but still have this black mark on their sheet.

[mountain grammy]

8. Agree!

[lame54]

11. THAT'S what you give the man who has it all

[underpants]

15. He should have won the Oscar for "Chaplin"

Congrats Julian!

[OnlinePoker]

26. I would have picked Denzel Washington for Malcolm X

Pacino definitely didn't deserve to even be nominated for Scent of a Woman...a really poor movie.

[underpants]

31. True it should have been one of them

Pacino's was a lifetime award. Yes the movie was bad and he didn't even say the tag line wrong.

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. Driven to tears Robert and Sting duet

[Maynar]

34. That was really great

Thanks!

[chapdrum]

22. Finally, Jerry was distracted enough

by celebrity, so he can continue to allow fracking, continue to not pressure SoCal Gas to stop the methane leak, stop selling water to Nestle' at (very likely) bargain basement prices.

Way to go, Jer. Priorities in order, as usual.

[reddread]

25. +1

[GReedDiamond]

33. Where is Gov Brown on all of these situations?

But especially, why does he pontificate on the effects of Global Warming, yet remain silent on the GIGANTIC SoCal Porter Ranch Gas Leak?

[SoapBox]

24. Uh, ya.

Sorry Jerry, loves ya but...so many others that need help and issues that need work for the benefit of all Californians.

That convictions has certainly not stopped him from making millions.

This is a fail.

[LynneSin]

28. Why?

You know it was 1996 when Downey finished his term in jail. So it's not like his celebrity status got him any special favors like a pardon sometime in the LAST TWO DECADES.

And Downey wasn't the only person on the list this year, there were 90 other people who were also pardoned. Why should Downey not be considered because of his wealth? He's been clean and sober for the last 20 years, he deserved it just as much as the other 90 who also received it. He had the same criteria as the others - he was a non-violent criminal who served his time in prison to a full completion. If he wasn't Robert Downey Jr, he would have received THE SAME EXACT CONSIDERATION.

I mean even Governor Schwartznegger could have pardoned him and did not, so I think the fact that it took 19 years for Downey's name to even get on the list shows that absolutely NO favoritism was played.

I know that all non-violent criminals, especially those who have been jailed for drug use, should be considered (which is how Downey ended up in jail). We will get there one day I hope. But disparaging Downey makes no sense. He had every right to receive this pardon.

[MisterP]

29. he'll have to start all over then

[Wibly]

30. Free the wrongfully incarcerated

Anyone currently imprisoned in California for minor drug offences that are no longer felonies should be automatically freed, and not requiring a pardon.
How many are there?

[BowlLikeAChicken]

32. was listening to the savage weiner .

and the twerp was going on about how he and downey were such tight buds and were working on a project.

Because I so loathe savage, I had to stop and re-assess what I thought of downey.

I'm not much of a movie watcher and I've only seen him in the marvel movies but I still like him because of that. I don't confuse what i see on the screen (small or large) with real-life.