Florida Governor Charlie Crist is weighing whether or not to pardon the late Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors, for his conviction on charges of exposure and profanity.
On March 1, 1969, the Lizard King reportedly attempted to break on through the other side of his clothing during a concert in Miami. He was found not guilty on charges of drunkenness and public lewdness -- no doubt much to his surprise on the former and disappointment on the latter -- but was convicted of the other two charges. The convictions were appealed, with lawyers for Morrison sensing a good First Amendment test case, but the singer did everyone involved the discourtesy of dying in Paris in 1971 and rendering the case more than a little moot.
Except to Gov. Crist, who was rendered more than a little moot by Florida voters last week when he lost his bid for the U.S. Senate. The gov and the other members of Florida's Board of Executive Clemency are all state officials who lost in campaigns for re-election or for other offices, meaning they've got little to lose if their decision to pardon Morrison outrages the public.
Which I believe it is unlikely to do. Yes, Florida has a number of older people in its population, and those are usually the kind of folks who frown on bad behavior such as Morrison is supposed to have exhibited in concert. But Morrison, were he alive today, would be a month shy of his own 67th birthday. Those cranky oldsters are more likely to get nostalgic for their own self-exposure than to get worked up about whether or not the governor pardons a forty-year-old minor felony on a guy who's been dead nearly that long.
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