Country legend Merle Haggard's "outlaw" reputation was well-deserved—he did a stint in San Quentin for burglary. But his musical talent earned him some friends in high places and Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, pardoned Haggard in 1972. He thanked Reagan personally with a concert at his California ranch. In an interview with CMT after Reagan's death in 2004, Haggard said that the decision "gave me a second chance at life" and "meant everything."
Rich Pedroncelli / AP Photo
Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards received a fortuitous backstage visit from Arkansas governor and rock bassist Mike Huckabee in 2006 after playing a gig in the state. Richards had been fined some 31 years earlier in Arkansas for reckless driving—he contended he was merely adjusting the radio. "Keith," Huckabee said after the concert, according to Slate, "I can pardon you and get that off your record. You can have a clean start in Arkansas." True to his word, the governor took care of the matter personally, giving Richards a fresh start on Arkansas driving.
Beth A. Keiser / AP Photo
George W. Bush may have stopped drinking at 40, but he held no grudges against those who made unlawful gains through manufacturing some private grain. In 2006, 43 made history. CNN marked the occasion this way: Bush became “the first president to pardon a cast member of the 1972 Academy Award-nominated movie Deliverance.” Bush gave clemency to Randall Leece Deal who had made a living making moonshine and was convicted of crimes relating to the violation of liquor laws. After his brush with the law, Deal turned lawman, working for the Rabun County, Georgia Sheriff’s Department and then had a small role as a local in the famous film.
Everett Collection
Folk legend Lead Belly accomplished the rare feat of singing his way out of a murder conviction in 1925 by begging Texas Governor Pat Neff to release him early. Some choice lyrics from the song he wrote: "Please, Governor Neff, let me go back home / I know my wife will jump and shout When de train roll up and I come steppin' out / Please, Governor Neff, be good an' kind / Have mercy on my great long time, I don't see to save my soul / If 1 can't get a pardon, try me in a parole." Lead Belly's talent got him out of prison a second time for attempted murder charges in 1935 after he penned another song for the governor of Louisiana, again winning a pardon.
March Of Time / Time Life Pictures / Getty Images
Hip-hop storyteller Slick Rick did over five years for a 1991 attempted murder conviction, but his crime continued to follow him even as he rehabilitated his music career. Born in England and raised in New York, Slick Rick, born Ricky Walters, faced threats of deportation as a result of his prison stint until Governor David Paterson took pity and issued a full pardon in 2008.
Matt Sayles / AP Photo
The future Union Army general and first governor of Washington Territory set the bar sky high for those looking to pardon pals and political cronies: Stevens pardoned himself in 1856 for contempt of court. The charges related to Stevens’ overzealous rule of the territories during the Indian War of 1855-56. Stevens pardon read, in part, “That I Isaac I. Stevens Governor of the said Territory by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor as aforesaid in order that the President of the United States may be fully advised in the premises and his pleasure known thereon, do hereby, respite the said Isaac I. Stevens defendant from execution of said judgment and all proceedings for the enforcement and collection of said fine and costs until the decision of the President of the United States can be made known thereon.”
Getty Images
With time running out on his tenure as Florida governor, Charlie Crist is reportedly considering granting a pardon to Jim Morrison for drunkenly showing a Sunshine State audience his "ivory shaft," Crist told The Hill.
Getty Images
