SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – The governor of California pardoned Robert Downey Jr. on Thursday for a nearly 20-year-old felony drug conviction that sent the Oscar-nominated actor to jail for nearly a year.
Downey was among 91 people granted pardons for criminal convictions after demonstrating they had rehabilitated themselves and been out of custody for at least 10 years, Gov. Jerry Brown’s office announced.
The pardon does not erase records of a conviction, but it restores voting rights and is a public proclamation that the person has remained out of trouble and demonstrated exemplary behavior, according to material on Brown’s website.
Downey, once a courthouse mainstay for a series of drug-related arrests, has become one of Hollywood’s greatest success stories for career and addiction rehabilitation.
Since 2008, Downey has portrayed “Iron Man” in a series of Disney blockbuster films, including “The Avengers,” based on the Marvel comic books.