Robert Downey Jr pardoned for his drug offences on Christmas

This Christmas, Robert Downey Jr has received pardon for his drug offences by the Governer of California, effectively wiping clean his record. Jerry Brown pardoned the 50-year-old actor for his nearly 20-year-old felony of drug conviction that sent him to jail for nearly a year, reports a website.

Robert Downey Jr

Brown's office recently announced that Downey was among 91 people granted pardons for criminal convictions after demonstrating they had rehabilitated themselves.

While the pardon does not erase records of a conviction, it does restore voting rights and is a public proclamation that the person has remained out of trouble and demonstrated exemplary behavior. Downey Jr, who was once a courthouse mainstay for a series of drug-related arrests, has become perhaps Hollywood's greatest success story for career and addiction rehabilitation.

The Avengers actor was busted on a highway in Los Angeles and convicted of felony drug possession after authorities found heroin, cocaine and a pistol in his vehicle in 1996. He spent nearly a year in prison in 1999 after violating his probation.