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Question about Pardons in Pennsylvania?

June 3rd, 2011 1 comment

I want to begin the process of obtaining a pardon for crimes I was convicted of from an accident back in 2002. Basically I went to 2 different pardon attorneys and recieved very different information. I assume this is because until I pay a retainer they are not going to spend anytime looking at my case. I want some other oppinions.

I was charged with Homicide by vehicle and reckless endangerment for an accident in which I was unable to stop for a red traffic signal and collided with another vehicle in which the other motorist was killed. Back then i was young and nieve in thinking that my attorney would actually help me. Instead he forced me to plead guilty to these crimes. At face value, everyone comes to conclusions thinking I must have done something wrong otherwise I wouldn’t have been charged this way. I say BS, there was no extenuating circumstance that I commited with gross negligence. Now I believe, at most and by talking to other officers, and reading about law that I should have been charged with Carless Driving with Accidental Death. I did nothing to warrant criminal action in that accident.

So talking with one attorney who barely had any facts and contacted the pardon board, said they would not grant a pardon for something like this. She said people need to know about it. She also said the only way I would have a chance is if I could prove I was wronfully charged. The other attorney with little information said I should wait until 15 years pass and then file for a pardon based on the fact that I have trouble obtaining jobs. He said accusing them of excessive charges would not go in my favor and that it is water under the bridge.

These people are contradicting eachother and I am confused. I feel like I have to say I was somehow wrongfully charged, however I am afraid I will get denied like the second attorney said.

Please, someoene who knows something about law give me some advice. I am desperate to have this criminal record removed. I am not a criminal and don’t believe I should be looked at as a criminal.

Thanks for any help.

The second attorney is pretty much right on. The fact that you plead guilty and the facts are not in dispute will make things considerably more difficult.

Your allegation that you were "forced" to plead guilty by your attorney does not hold water. Don’t go there.

The reason people conclude that you "must" have done something wrong to get the charges you did is because that’s how it works. The state "must" prove that you’ve done what the law describes for that charge in order to be convicted. The judge would not allow you to plead guilty to a charge either if it didn’t appear that you actually did what the charges say you did. You can’t plead guilty to bank robbery if there’s no evidence that a bank was actually robbed, and you can’t plead guilty to vehicular homicide if you were simply in a bad accident.