3 area men get pardons for past crimes

Three people living in the La Crosse area have been granted pardons by Governor Tony Evers, for offenses committed years ago. 

They’re among a group of nine people being pardoned this week, because Evers says those people have made amends for past crimes. 

A 38-year-old La Crosse man who was pardoned was 16 when he and a friend took a car joyriding and drove into a ditch while being followed by police. 

A business owner from West Salem was arrested more than 30 years ago for selling marijuana to an undercover agent. 

And a body shop owner in Soldiers Grove has been pardoned for having stolen alcohol when he was 17. 

Twenty years or more have passed since those arrests.

The Wisconsin Constitution grants the governor the power to pardon individuals convicted of a crime. A pardon is an official act of forgiveness that restores some of the rights that are lost when someone is convicted of a felony, including the right to serve on a jury, hold public office, and hold certain professional licenses. A pardon does not result in an expungement.