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Robert Downey Jr pardoned for 20-year-old drug conviction

The actor was arrested a number of times in the 1990s

Heather Saul
Friday 25 December 2015 10:30 GMT
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Robert Downey Jr
Robert Downey Jr

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Robert Downey Jr has a received an official pardon for the drug conviction that saw him jailed 15 years ago.

The Iron Man actor was chosen as one of 91 people to be pardoned by California Governor Jerry Brown on Christmas Eve for “living an honest and upright life”.

The order states: “By completion of his sentence and good conduct in the community of his residence since his release, Robert John Downey, Jr. has paid his debt to society and earned a full and unconditional pardon.”

Downey Jr was arrested a number of times in the late 1990s. In June 1996 he was pulled over by Malibu police for speeding, who found a gun, cocaine and heroin in his car.

He was sentenced to three years in prison in 1999 for violating his probation, serving 15 months in total. He completed his parole in 2002 and went on to forge a successful career as Tony Stark in the Iron Man franchise.

He is now the highest paid actor in Hollywood, worth an estimated $80 million in 2015.

His conviction will remain on his record.

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