The state-level charges, formally unveiled late on Monday, also cannot be pardoned by Georgia’s governor under the state’s constitution. Instead, the southern US state has an independent board that issues pardons, but such requests can only be made five years after a sentence is served.
Dunno about this particular cicumstance but up here in canada land, when you seek a pardon it expunges your criminal record except in the case where you re-offend, allowing folks who have served their time to reintegrate into the work force. There are caveats to this but in general this is the role pardon serves up here.
It a good system. Wish it was more automatic on non violent crimes.
Basically your criminal record is hidden at some point and only becomes a factor in future sentencing should you choose to commit a crime. It is quite a deterrent without saddling someone with a criminal record.