Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced the pardons of three individuals Wednesday as he prepares to leave office.John Austin, Phillip Hagar Jr. and Edmund Mulvehill Jr. were pardoned by the governor based off recommendations made by the Advisory Board of Pardons, according to a spokesperson. The pardons now need to be approved by the Governor’s Council. “The clemency process is an integral part of our criminal justice system, and I take the responsibility of granting pardons very seriously,” Baker said in a statement. “After careful consideration of these cases and the recommendations of the Advisory Board of Pardons, I have reached the conclusion that these individuals are worthy candidates for a pardon.”Mulvehill was convicted of two counts of armed robbery in connection with robbing a Norwood gas station while armed with a knife on consecutive days on March 4-5, 1977. He was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, which was suspended for three years of probation, the Advisory Board of Pardons said. A Vietnam-era U.S. Air Force veteran, Mulvehill told the board of "traumatic events" in combat overseas which led to a substance addiction. Since his conviction, he "dedicated his life to working with disabled veterans," according to the board's report, and worked as a municipal veterans' services director for more than 20 years.Austin was arrested for a second offense of operating under the influence of alcohol on July 1, 1996, according to the Advisory Board of Pardons. He was previously arrested for OUI in 1988 and was sentenced to one year of probation following his second offense. The board said Austin now works as both a hospital radiology technician and a deputy fire chief.Hagar, now 83, was fined $35 for discharging a firearm within 150 feet of a highway on December 30, 1971. The National Guard veteran told the Advisory Board of Pardons that he had fired at a deer while hunting with his father and did not realize his close proximity to the highway. Hagar, who has no other criminal history, hopes to regain his license to carry, which he held for more than 40 years, and participate more fully in his local fish and game club. The three pardons come a month after Baker recommended pardons for Gerald "Tooky" Amirault and Cheryl Amirault Lefave, who were convicted of sexually abusing young children at their Malden day care. The case is one of the nation's most highly-charged and disputed abuse cases of the 1980s.Since October, Baker has sent a bunch of pardons to the Governor's Council, which has given its unanimous approval to about a dozen of them thus far. The council plans to hold a public hearing on Tuesday on the pardons of Amirault and Amirault Lefave.Information from the State House News Service was used in this report.