Kaine has granted more 'simple pardons' than recent predecessors

How governors compare

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has issued 55 simple pardons since taking office in 2006, more than any of his nine most recent predecessors. Here are the other governors since 1970 who issued the most and the fewest.

The most:

Republican Linwood Holton, 1970-74 -- 54

Republican John N. Dalton, 1978-82 -- 54

Republican Mills E. Godwin Jr., 1974-78 -- 52

The fewest:

Democrat L. Douglas Wilder, 1990-94 -- 4

Republican Jim Gilmore, 1998-02 -- 9

Republican George Allen, 1994-98 -- 12

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has granted 55 simple pardons during the first three years of his four-year term in office, more than any of the previous nine Virginia governors.

A simple pardon, the most commonly issued pardon, does not erase a criminal conviction, said Bernie Henderson, senior deputy secretary of the commonwealth.

It's simply the state's way of forgiving, if not forgetting, a crime.

"It doesn't say you were innocent of it, it just says you were a good person since you made a mistake, and we forgive you," Henderson said.

A notation that a pardon has been issued can be placed on the criminal record of the person and can often help explain or mitigate the obstacles of having a criminal record, such as when seeking a job or travel visa, or adopting a child.

Many of the simple pardons issued by Kaine were for crimes that occurred many years ago, ranging from minor shoplifting and drug offenses to crimes committed by young adults who have otherwise led productive lives.

People apply to the governor for pardons and must write in their own words why they deserve consideration. They must have had their civil rights restored by the governor, completed their sentences and maintained a clean record for five years.

"Typically the person has made some significant contribution to the community -- it's not enough that they just stayed out of trouble," Henderson said. "It's what this person has done to separate him or her from everybody else who committed that particular crime."

Among the 41 who received simple pardons this year:

• Lavern Kenobia Abernathy, who was convicted in Norfolk in 1975 on two misdemeanor counts of "concealing two shirts from a department store." She is now the proprietor of a Christian academy.
• Former Richmond City Councilman William Irvin Golding, who, as a 19-year-old, was convicted in 1955 of grand theft auto, breaking and entering, and burglary arising from a single incident. Golding was elected to City Council in 1978, and removed from office because of the conviction. His civil rights were restored by Gov. John N. Dalton, and he was again elected to City Council in 1990.
• Christopher Eugene Mar, who was convicted while he was a college student in Fairfax County in 1992 of stealing a credit card from a friend. He requested the pardon so that he and his wife could adopt a child.

On rare occasions, governors can also issue conditional pardons, which typically are granted when the governor decides that someone who is under a sentence of the courts needs to have that sentence changed, adjusted or otherwise altered.

Appeals for conditional pardons are typically made by felons who want to make a case for conditional release. Kaine has only granted two conditional pardons during his term in office.

Most recently, Kaine issued a conditional pardon for Ollin Renaye Crawford-Daniels, who was convicted in Fairfax County in 1985 of four counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery. Her sentences resulted in a total of 70 years.

The Department of Corrections classified her crimes as "armed robberies" because she had shown tellers a bag and claimed to have a grenade. The classification made her subject to Virginia's "three-time-loser" statute and ineligible for parole until 2020.

The trial judge and the prosecutor submitted letters saying they did not intend or expect that Crawford-Daniels would be ineligible for parole on the convictions.

Even more rare are absolute pardons, which governors grant when they are convinced that a person who is convicted did not commit the crime.

An absolute pardon is a determination of not guilty by the governor, which automatically restores a person's civil rights, which include the right to vote, to hold public office and to sit on a jury, Henderson said. It also allows someone to go to the court where the conviction was entered and apply for the record to be expunged.

Kaine has granted one absolute pardon. It occurred last June, in the case of Theodore James Pinnock of Chesapeake, who was convicted in 2001 in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court of domestic assault and battery of his wife and given a 12-month suspended sentence.

A 2006 medical assessment concluded Pinnock, who is now 86, suffered from dementia, which caused the assault on his wife, who received "a small cut from a kitchen knife." Pinnock's wife of 49 years, who is his caretaker, supported the pardon.