Chris Christie has pardoned Steffon Josey-Davis, a New Jersey security guard who accidentally left his legal firearm in his glove box and then went driving with his girlfriend. Steffon-Davis had been found guilty of a felony, which conviction had

all but ruined his prospects. At the time of his arrest, Josey-Davis was employed as a security guard; as a felon he is now prohibited from working in that role. Before his conviction, he had hoped to become a police officer; as a felon he cannot so much as apply for an interview. Worse still, he is now barred from voting, and he is prohibited by law from purchasing, owning, or carrying a gun. As he puts it in a Change.org petition that has attracted more than 85,000 signatures, his “future has been derailed” by overly punitive rules. And why? Because he committed a “crime” that caused no harm to anybody.


“This is another well deserved pardon,” Josey-Davis’s lawyer, Evan Nappen, told me over the phone. “We are waiting to get the official paperwork, but this is a full and complete pardon. Hopefully Steffon will now be able to pursue his career.”

Here is the pardon paper: