Gov. Chris Christie commutes sentence of man convicted of having guns in N.J. illegally

[RamboLiberal]

TRENTON -- Brian Aitken, who was convicted of illegally possessing two handguns that he had legally purchased in Colorado, will be spending Christmas out of prison.

Gov. Chris Christie commuted Aitken's sentence, from seven years to time served, according to an order the governor signed today.

Aitken had appealed to Christie for commutation after being sentenced in August. According to the commutation order, Aitken will be released as "soon administratively possible."

In 2009, Aitken was arrested for possessing three handguns and ammunition -- the guns were unloaded -- after State Police troopers found them in the trunk of his car. Aitken was visiting his mother in Burlington County when she became concerned about his well-being and called the police.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/gov_chris_christie_commutes_se.html

The case of a New Jersey man who is serving seven years in prison for possessing two locked and unloaded handguns he purchased legally in Colorado is a perfect example of how a law-abiding citizen can unwittingly become a criminal due to vastly differing gun laws among the states, gun rights experts say.

Aitken had purchased the guns legally in Colorado, and he passed an FBI background check when he bought them, his father said. And he said Brian also contacted New Jersey State Police before moving back back home to discuss how to properly transport his weapons. But despite those good-faith efforts, he said, Brian was convicted on weapons charges and sent to prison in August.

Brian's relatives and his lawyer, Evan Nappen, believe he had a legal exemption to have the handguns in his car because they say he was in the process of moving from his parents' home in Mount Laurel to Hoboken when the guns were found. A formal appeal and clemency petition have been filed with the office of Gov. Chris Christie, and a "Free Brian Aitken" Facebook group has garnered roughly 7,000 supporters. A brief on his appeal is due on Dec. 30, officials told FoxNews.com.

Nappen claims the moving exemption issue was raised both during the trial and in a pretrial motion to have the entire case dismissed, but he said the jury was never given the exemption statute because then-Superior Court Judge James Morley refused to provide it to them.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/12/02/new-jersey-gun-case-highlights-patchwork-state-gun-laws-relatives-experts-say/

Well one thing I can agree with Christie about, well except I think the conviction should've been voided completely. This case was a sham! Will NJ get rid of some of the stupidity in their gun laws? They should start by allowing hollow point bullets.

[X_Digger]

1. The hollow point ban does seem particularly inane..

They're less likely to penetrate an officer's vest, and less likely to go through a target into a bystander.

[RamboLiberal]

2. Guess it was passed during the craziness about

"cop-killer" bullets & Black Talon etc. The gun ban movement, media and some Dems put out their share of gun & ammo fallacies.

[Katya Mullethov]

3. And he hopes to get the conviction overturned on appeal

All in all . A huge amount of money , well spent . Just ask them .

[davepc]

4. Well, so that fat tub of shit did one decent thing on top of 1000 bad ones

broken clocks etc etc

[RamboLiberal]

5. Check out this anti-gun biased reporting

Burlco gun lover wins commutation of seven-year prison term from governor

Gov. Chris Christie has just commuted to time served the seven-year prison term issued last month to a Burlington County man for possession of a handgun and cop-killer bullets.

http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2010/12/20/news/doc4d0fe0db0920f268297516.txt

[benEzra]

6. They can't even keep their prohibitionist scare-memes straight.

"Cop-killer bullets" are armor-piercing. JHP is the exact opposite.

[Callisto32]

10. I pointed that out, once.

The response was "consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."

I laughed and laughed.

[Euromutt]

12. They could at least have quoted Emerson correctly

It's "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds," not consistency in general. There's nothing foolish about being consistent in using the term "horse" to refer to horses, as opposed to, say, using it for horses one day, cows the next, deer the day after that, etc.

[Callisto32]

15. That is why I laughed and laughed.

Funny thing is this person was a college professor....of political science.

[X_Digger]

7. Oh FFS..

Why even call it 'reporting'? Slap 'editorial' on it and be done with it.

[PavePusher]

8. If I were Mr Aitken...

I'd tell the fat bastard fuck where to shove his commutation, how far and at what speed. You can't be guilty of exercising a Constitutional Right, even in that fucked up shit-hole of an excuse for a state.

[littlewolf]

9. I believe Mr. Aitken asked for the commutation

which got him out of prison while he appeals the conviction ....

[Euromutt]

11. And Aitken might have good reason not to want an executive pardon

Namely that, while an executive pardon would clear the conviction off his record and restore any rights he lost as a result of it, he actually wants to take this case as far as he can, in particular to bring judicial censure down on the judge who refused to instruct the jury about the moving exemption, and because he doesn't want the stigma of having been pardoned rather than acquitted. Note: this is speculation on my part, but it's a possibility.

[PavePusher]

16. I certainly hope that's his plan, and it's what I would want to do.

I kind of lost the train in the middle of the vitriol there.

Oops.

[badtoworse]

13. Hollowpoints illegal in NJ?

I was not aware of that. Does it include 22 caliber rimfire?

[RamboLiberal]

14. Here's the law

You can have it in your home. And for hunting and some other exceptions. Way I read it .22 is in the ban under same restrictions as any other hollow point.

http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/about/fire_hollow.html

[badtoworse]

18. Thanks. I only have FMJ rounds for my 9 mm

I was thinking of getting some JHP ammo for home defense, but it sounds like I'd be breaking the law if I ever had to use it.

[spin]

17. The morale of that story is don't live in any state that has politicians as stupid as in ...

New Jersey.

Of course, it may not be stupidity but corruption.

I just finished looking at Corruption in New Jersey...Latest news on political corruption and arrests in NJ
http://www.nj.com/corruption/


Verry interesting!

[badtoworse]

19. Corruption in NJ has always been legendary