SC man gets presidential pardon from Biden over decades-old illegal whiskey sale
A 77-year-old Swansea man who pleaded guilty when he was 18 to illegally selling whiskey received a presidential pardon Dec. 30, the White House announced.
Charlie Byrnes Jackson was involved in a single illegal whiskey sale without a tax stamp. He was sentenced in 1964 to five years probation.
Jackson was one of six people to receive a pardon from President Joe Biden before the new year.
Five of the six had drug- or alcohol-related offenses. One 80-year-old woman had been convicted of second-degree murder of her husband when she was 33. She testified she had been physically assaulted and threatened before she shot him.
All six have completed their sentences and have become active in their communities since their releases, the White House said.
Jackson wanted to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school in 1964, but was rejected because of his federal conviction, the White House said.
He completed his probation in 1969 and has been an active member of his church since 1987. Jackson has helped community members in need and helped maintain and renovate his church’s buildings, the White House said.
Jackson did not respond to a request for comment.
Reporter Morgan Hughes contributed to this article.
