He doesn't really have much of a choice, does he? While I suppose you can technically pardon someone for crimes that they haven't been convicted of yet, it does seem inappropriate for a governor to interfere with a criminal case currently being prosecuted.
I mean, if there ever was a good time, this would be it, I suppose, but I wouldn't like the precedent.
Actually, he does. Bush I did the same thing with preemptive pardons to stop the Lawrence Walsh witch hunt.