Does a pardon imply that the crime wasn’t important? That the sentence was too long?
Commute means to me that they just shortened the sentence. Period.
But maybe pardon can have a multiple take. Commute doesn’t seem to, though.
He served his time in prison.
The article excerpt is incorrect, as the sailor already served his full sentence and was released in September 2017. You can't really commute a sentence that has already been served, so a pardon was the only redress. The pardon should also restore any veterans benefits and change the characterization of his discharge. He is no longer a felon, so his employment opportunities will be much better.
This sailor took 6 pictures that the Navy reviewed and classified Confidential, the lowest level classification. I have seen several cases like his (taking photos in a restricted area) and all were handled at NJP. At worst, this sailor should have been kicked out of the Submarine and Nuclear programs, and sent to the fleet as a conventional Machinist Mate. That would have been considered extreme.
This happened in 2009, the guy had already served his sentence in prison.