>> Chris Christy should have PARDONED him, not just commuted his sentence. <<
Aitken didn’t want a pardon, at least not just yet. He and his lawyer wanted a chance to appeal the original decision so as to have it overturned. If successful, he can truly say he was found “not guilty” by a the normal legal process, whereas a pardon would leave lingering doubt — at least in some folks’ minds — as to whether or not he was guilty.
I hope you are correct as to the reason he did not get a ‘pardon’-—he now has a felony record and cannot own a firearm due to the ‘peoples republic of NJ’ and their stuopid, vindictive firearms laws-—I am an 88 yr old WW2 combat vet who lived there from 1945 until 1994 and finally got my ass out of the dump-—my seven kids and 36 grands are still there but I will never go back to that hellhole of liberal garbage—Christie is better than most of the trash they elect but still a ‘gun-grabber’ at heart.
Along with other posters here, I thought a pardon would be the best solution, but apparently that is wrong. By continuing with his legal battle Aitken can completely clear his name, and can reduce the chances that this sort of travesty will be repeated. Christie did the right thing.