Christie Commutes Sentence of Man Serving 7 Years for Transporting Legal Guns
- Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:33pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has commuted the sentence of a man sentenced to seven years in prison for transporting guns he owned legally.
27-year-old Brian Aitken was arrested, charged, and convicted in 2009 after his mother called 911 (but hung up), worried that he was distraught over not being able to spend time with his son and was considering suicide. Police eventually traced the call and found Aitken. And when they did, they also found two unloaded handguns in his his trunk, which he owned legally. The guns were there, he says, because he was in the process of moving.
That apparently didn’t matter.
“This case is the perfect storm of injustice,” Aitken’s attorney, Evan Nappen, told the Daily Caller last month.
Now it seems Christie agrees. On Monday the governor commuted Aitkens sentence to time already served and ordered him released as soon as it’s “administratively possible.”
The Daily Caller reports:
New Jersey law requires residents who want to transport firearms legally to request a permit from a local law enforcement office and produce a letter stating why it is necessary for them to carry a gun.
Aitken’s attorney argued that his client was innocent of any offense because the firearms were legally purchased (at a Bass Pro Shop), properly stored, and unloaded. And though New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, Aitken’s attorney said his client did not violate any law because he was in the middle of moving residences between two states.
Nonetheless, Aitken was sentenced to seven years in prison in August. His supporters say the judge refused to accept evidence supporting his defense. He was convicted of the same kind of felony a criminal who had bought guns with intent to commit a crime would have faced.
Aitken moved from Colorado, where gun laws are much more reasonable, to New Jersey after separating from his wife in 2008. His original plan was to be closer to his son. Now that seems possible.
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Comments (161)
Keith B
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:03pmWhen I first heard this story I thought this guy was screwed, but thank God for Christie. It was the right thing to do. Now I hope this guy does not whack his family or anything, then all hell will break loose.
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:32pmGood point…he better be GOOD!
Report Post »Geo0248
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:58pm“some” Sanity Restored.
Report Post »And in a liberal state of all places.
Go figure?
First getting rid of Corzine and now this?
There still may be hope for this country.
roseofsharon
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:28pmNo kidding. When my husband first told me we were moving to Jersey I thought, “Oh no!”, and then Christie was elected… Thank God! I could watch this guy on the news everyday and not get sick of him (like some professors we know.) I’d seriously consider him for my POTUS vote in 2012, but he’s been so adamant about not being interested. ;(
Report Post »Charbet
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:58pmThank you Gov. Christie, and Merry Christmas to you!
Report Post »MamaofJ5
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:58pmNice job Governor! Now work on bringing back the second amendment to the folks of your state, it is their right. Thank God I live in Alabama. With my permit I can carry my gun anywhere but a federal building, court house or bar. (as a former bar owner I totally agree with). Even if my license had elapsed, I wouldn’t go to jail for transporting an unloaded firearm. That is just totally insane. Christie you are quickly becoming my choice for 2012, run, Governor, run.
Report Post »Diamondback
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:56pmCommuted the sentence ONLY! That’s it. How about a complete pardon and wiping the conviction off the record. The judge should be sued pursuant to 18 USC Sections 241, 242. The guy was in compliance with the standard rules for traveling. He was “in the process of moving” and the judge disallowed the use of the travel statutes as affirmative defense???!!!
Does this commutation restore the man’s right to KABA for self-defense? If not, it doesn’t go far enough.
Report Post »JohninKatytx
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:20pmDiamondback
Report Post »That is all the Atty for brian was asking they are appeling and know they are going to win that.
a pardon does not give you back your rights. but winning the appeal does.
the judge is gone he was removed from the bench.
I have been following this case for over a month now.
Tom Grisom of Gun Talk had the Atty on last month.
bullzi
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:55pmYou go Chris!!! Maybe there’s hope for this wonderful country after all!
Report Post »emertz8413
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:54pmCan I hope the new Gov in OHIO is half the man Christie is?
Report Post »Lantern
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:14pmEven HALF of Christie is better than Strickland.
Report Post »mjgma
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:52pmGov Christie continues to do what is right. Good for him!
Report Post »AmericanLass
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:52pmFinally, someone who has a brain and the wisdom of Solomon.
Report Post »Your Name Here
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:52pmI love Chris Christie but I have to ask why he commuted the sentence to time served instead of a full pardon so Brian Aitken’s record would be clean and not show him as a convicted felon.
I‘m just waiting to see the results of the FCC’s attempt to take over the internet. Make your comments while you can still do so.
Report Post »pzzdnga
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:01pm…so they couldn’t retry him on different charges. Time served means they can’t come back and the @zzhole judge can’t do anything about it. He can get his record expunged…it will be costly, but better than serving any more time!
Report Post »GEW
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:03pmAgree with you about FCC. Remember however, they will also take names and addresses, and would not surprise me to see em knocking at my door with men and guns.
Report Post »Ackston
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:50pmGovernment and authoritarian Statists represented by the left are relentless in usurping your rights
Report Post »SHOESHINEBOY
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:49pmBless you Gub’nah..Bless you and your family…
Report Post »Warphead
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:49pmOur old friend Mr. Common Sense that has been on life support for oh so many years seems to have turned the corner and is making a miraculous recovery, Thanks to Gov, ahh, I mean, Dr. Christie. I Just want to tell you both good luck. We’re all counting on you
Report Post »hickoryrat
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:47pmat last,a politician who has an understanding of the 2nd amend
Report Post »Liberals are Disgusting
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:47pmOk I have been holding off but after this I have to say Christy for President maybe King the way things are going by the time the boy in there now is ejected we might not have a president anymore so Christy for KING!!!!
Report Post »republitarian
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:46pm“New Jersey law requires residents who want to transport firearms legally to request a permit from a local law enforcement office and produce a letter stating why it is necessary for them to carry a gun.”
Stunning. You need a permission slip to hunting?
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:10pmYou need the permit to purchase a gun not to transport on the road. Federal law says to transport ammo must be seperate from weapon. This crap that Nazi Jersey puts people through is why I don’t want to move there. I would have to give up or get permission to keep “the greatest implement of battle ever divised by man.”
Report Post »Rn mom
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 4:23pmUp in the North East you need a permission slip to hunt- it’s called a hunting license and you can only kill the number of deer allowed on the license and you have hunting seasons (specific times you can hunt). Puleeze the regs up here are insane- no wonder hunting is a dying sport up here.
Report Post »Rn mom
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 6:58pmI’m sorry… I mean a “permit”
Report Post »NE Cowboy
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:45pmAdd your comments
Report Post »ShineTheLightBrighter
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:45pmUnbelievable. Now I have to research the gun laws in every state I “might” travel into or through with my RV while on vacation since I travel with weapons for my own security. Wha‘t’s up with the citizens of New Jersey? How could they give up so much of their gun liberties? What is the point of owning a gun if you can’t take it anywhere without a permit? Oh, that’s right, to keep the criminals from transporting their guns! As I started, unbelievable!
Report Post »8jrts
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:11pmUs law abiding citizens didn’t give up our rights….we’re just out numbered by crooked libs!! I’d love to leave…anyone want to buy a house?
Report Post »oldoldtimer
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:01pm8jrts, that would not happen if 70% of the people voted instead of just 30%. That 30% is 60% libs and radicals that hate this country.
Report Post »BigDaddy
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:43pmOnce again, Christy makes sense.
Report Post »Resolved
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:42pmThat judge should serve the rest of Aitken‘s sentence as far as I’m concerned. These liberals are so dogmatic in their hatred of guns you’d think it was a religion (kind of like Climate Change). They don’t see that every country that has enacted major gun bans has had them followed by higher crime rates, and most have had people rounded up and killed. In most places we call that Genocide, but I guess libs are okay with that as long as they get rid of guns. Laws against firearms only affect the lawful.
Report Post »mango65
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:00pmThat is the point. Domestic turmoil makes it easier to clamp down on the populace. Very old dictatorial tactic.
Report Post »oldoldtimer
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:59pmLibs are like Mu s l ims in that it can only be one way, Theirs. The libs would be classed as a cult following.
Report Post »NE Cowboy
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:42pmChristie, PLEASE run for president in 2012!!!!!
Report Post »TexasCommonSense
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 3:07pmHe could definitely serve the greater good.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:41pmThank God for a little sanity in an insane state. How many others are in prison in that lefty state for similar indiscressions? Come to the Southwest gun lovers we will not call you criminals for excercizing your constitutional rights.
Report Post »Thank You Chris Christie!
Resolved
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:46pmCouldn’t agree more! Right on!
Report Post »APROUDVETERAN
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:27pmCant wait to get out of this state NJ and move to Texas or Arizona or Florida —anywhere that I can carry my legal firearms without being hassled !!! Used to be a NY resident and had a pistol permit –for target use only. Frequenting an indoor range in NYC, my gun had to be transported in a locked box and unloaded; with my ammunition carried separately. There was always a number of rough looking characters hanging around outside the building — I often thought that if these characters knew that people going into the range were carrying firearms -legally as in the gun being unloaded – there would have been an awful lot of holdups. So glad to see that AZ has a new carry law where anyone whether resident or not can carry a firearm in AZ….GREAT GOING AZ !!
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:01pmAPROUDVETERAN
Report Post »In NYC you have to get a permit for your handgun that specifies ‘target shooting’ only?? What the heck else are you going to shoot at? Is it so if you shoot a burgler who is planning to do harm to you or yours, the courts can strip you of your gun since you exceeded your permit?
Bullcop34
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:20pmGet below the Mason Dixon before it is too late, all you proud gun owners, we will need you sooner than you think!
Report Post »ETOOL USMC RECON
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:39pmGov. Chris get’s BETTER AND BETTER EVERY DAY !
Report Post »Vyger
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:38pmI second this post. Somebody please talk him into running for President!
Report Post »DaleCop
Posted on December 22, 2010 at 9:45amHold it, everyone! This is good but not great. Christie only COMMUTTED the sentance. He did not give a PARDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This means that Aitken will forever have a FELONY conviction on his record!
So, yeah, he’s out of jail. But this is not the victory conservatives should have hoped for. This is a compromise with the anti-gun fanatics.
Christie is good on many things – but he still has a lot to prove on others, including the 2nd Amendment.
Report Post »coryf076
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:38pmThere is still some justice in America…..
Report Post »Bauervision
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:51pmas long as it is not at the hands of an Obamanite
Report Post »@leftfighter
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:05pmWait. You’re telling me that you have to ask permission to move your own gun in New Jersey? How about to wipe your own @$$?
It‘s almost like we’re living in two different nations, the United Democratic Socialist Nanny States of America, and the Common Sense States of America.
Buck Bagaw
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 4:57pmJustice will be served when a full pardon is issued and this man’s record is cleared of the crime he did not commit. C’mon Chris, finish the job!
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 9:22pmI just find it amazing that a man who is in the process of moving his firearms legally from one location to another is tossed in the slammer, but we can’t deport illegal aliens who have in some cases committed murder, arson or manslaughter because they have “rights”. Go figure.
Report Post »Susan Harkins
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:36pmGood.
Now lets throw Janet Napalmagrotto in there, in his place.
Report Post »cubber
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:43pmWay to go Chris. I will stand next to you anytime. BE PREPARED.
Report Post »pzzdnga
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 12:57pmNahhh…Let the “Judge” take his place. Napalmagrotto needs a trip to El Paso, right on the Ciudad Juarez border, wearing a sign that says “I’m the biggest problem in your way to America $$”. Afterall, she‘s always telling us what a great job she’s doing….
Report Post »Hoosier Daddy
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:03pmI look forward to the next administration directing the Justice Department to begin a slew of investigations. Of course, if we end up with another milquetoast (vis-a-vis Democrats) like Bush, nothing will be investigated.
Report Post »Disabledvet
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:06pmI fully agree with Chris on this, Good Job, my only problem is that this man now has a felony conviction and can no longer own guns, instead of having his sentence reduce (Which is Great) it should have been thrown out, and the man should sue the state and judge that locked him up.
Chris Christie if you run for the oval office you have a vote here.
GayDem4Beck
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:13pmWay to go Gov. Christie ! Thank you for correcting a great wrong.
Report Post »Curioso
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:24pmIf at all possible all the residents of New Jersey that own firearms should leave the state and find residence in a state where the U.S. Constitution still applies or elect people that will repeal stupid laws like that.
Report Post »Just looked this up
http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/homerealestate/feature.jsp?story=crimeridden
maybe their stupid laws have something to do with it.
Dirty Harry
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:30pmName the DA and the judge and sick O’Reilly after them.
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 1:59pmI agree with “Dirty Harry”…this should not be the end of this! We need to shine a great big light on this one!
Report Post »JohninKatytx
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:15pmDisabledvet
Brians’ Atty are appeling the convection and are sure that they will win. Then the Convection will be overturned so all they where asking for was Christie to commute the sentence. Which he finaly did a little late but better than never.
We have been asking him to do this for almost a month now.
The judge was already thrown off the bench for other reasons he was a very bad and liberal judge.
Report Post »this should have been a nobrainer for christie I wonder why it took him so long to do it but atleast it was done in time for him to be home for christmas
godlovinmom
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:20pmwhen I first heard this story I thought it was bogus…way to go Mr. Christy
Report Post »BMartin1776
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:27pmAgreed she and Holder have to go. They are a threat to all of us along with the rest of the boy kings cronies!
What are you prepared to do? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7jsKLXqA0g
Christie/ ? ‘12
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:37pmGreat move Christie; now I am glad to see that some common sense and spine does actually exist in the various governors. This case showed just how out of control the activist judges are, and the fact there is almost nothing that can stop them from imposing their will upon the people of the land.
Good Job Governor.
Report Post »Parkeralan
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:43pmAhhh Yeeaaahh! I think I am developing a serious man crush on that big ol’ tub of gooo. When we recruit him in 2012 he will have way more executive experience than Obama!
Report Post »PA PATRIOT
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 2:51pmThank the Lord it was not Massachusetts, they would have thrown away the key. DUKAKAAASSSS
Report Post »N5DVC
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 4:38pmWith every passing day, Chris Christie becomes more and more my hero…
Report Post »walkwithme1966
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 4:39pmGood job Christie – its about time someone got a decent shake in life!!! http://maboulette.wordpress.com
Report Post »TXPilot
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 5:17pmJust another example of how Christie is the kind of honest patriot we need many more of.
Report Post »CultureWarriors
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 7:00pm`Actually the ex-judge needs to be thrown in jail. His willful misconduct put an innocent man in jail. This is the worst crime a judge can commit. There needs to severe punishment that kind of abuse of power!
Report Post »lketchum
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 8:15pmChris Christie 2012! Nuff said! The man can lead, period, end of story!
Run Gov. Christie, run!
Report Post »thepatriotdave
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 9:19pmCan it be? We may have an honest politician in this country after all.
Keep up the good work Chris. The future is looking very bright for you.
PatriotShops.com
Report Post »thepatriotdave
Posted on December 21, 2010 at 9:22pmWhat upsets me about this story is the amount of time this poor guy got. Many people in liberal states like NJ can commit MURDER and get sentenced for 7 years and less, yet this poor slob gets 7 years for NOT breaking the law. This is a fine example of why I don’t like progressives/liberals!!!
PatriotShops.com
Report Post »judg724
Posted on December 22, 2010 at 1:11amWay to go Gov. Christie! This was such a gross injustice, I told many people about this story. The lingering problem though, is that judges who couldn’t give a rip about right and wrong yet worship at the alter of the law, are still on the bench. We need to do everything possible to replace these worthless slobs with some constitutional scholars.
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