Clemency board pardons Jim Morrison
Singer Jim Morrison's 1970 mugshot after being convicted in the 1969 indecent exposure incident. He was still appealing the conviction when he died in Paris in 1971.
TALLAHASSEE - Nearly forty years after his death, rock legend Jim Morrison of The Doors received a pardon from the state Clemency Board for his indecent exposure conviction in Florida.
Morrison, a.k.a. The Lizard King, was sentenced to six months in jail and a $500 fine for profanity and publicly exposing himself in 1969 at a raucous concert in Miami. The rock star, who would have turned 67 this year, was appealing his conviction when he was found dead in Paris in 1971.
Devoted fans have continued through the decades to press his case. Gov. Charlie Crist, one of four members of the state Clemency Board, decided this fall to pick up the Lizard King's cause as one of his final acts before leaving office next month. Crist has expressed doubts that Morrison actually exposed himself, which the singer denied doing.
Thursday, Crist personally spoke on Morrison's behalf, pointing out that many witnesses testified in court that Morrison had not actually exposed his genitals to the crowd. Crist also pointed out that authorities waited four days to bring charges in the case -- after media reports appeared about it -- and that Morrison's death had prevented him from completing his appeal.
Morrison's was number 40 of 81 cases pending today before the clemency board, which consists of the governor and three state Cabinet members. It is the board's final meeting before Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson leave office next month.
McCollum, who said during the meeting that the significance of the case paled in comparison to others before the board, did not cast a vote on the pardon, letting it stand as a 3-0 decision.
During the hearing, both Crist and Sink referred to the Morrison's enduring legacy as a gifted music artist. Asked if he would have been pardoned had he not been a celebrity rock star, Crist said, "Yeah, I think he probably would. And as evidence to that, I would cite many of the other cases that we did handle today as well, and spent significantly more time on."
While raising questions about the case, Crist said he was not attempting to re-try it.
"We have today, this very day, forgiven people -- pardoned them, for other things that have been, that have taken place in their life," Crist said, referring to the board's decisions in other cases today. "And because of the forgiveness of the hearts of these people that I have the privilege to serve, we have made that statement about Florida. And so why I am doing this, is to make that statement about Florida again.
"It's not about the guilt or innocence of the man, and it's not about retrying the case here today. That's not what this is about … We have had an opportunity for about 40 years for this son of Florida, whose body of work has endured, and has this blot on his record, if you will, for something that he may or may not have done, when he was essentially a kid."
Not everyone was so enthusiastic. Retired Miami police officer Angel Lago, who said he was a friend and colleague of the arresting officer in the case, testified against Morrison during the hearing.
"I think this is the wrong message to send," he said, defending the honesty of his friend, who is now an undersheriff in Kentucky and could not attend today's proceedings.
Morrison, Lago said, never showed remorse following his conviction or changed his lifestyle of substance abuse. Remorse and rehabilitation are usually considered vital criteria by the clemency board in pardon cases.
"If you write hit songs, you can get away with [expletive] in Florida," Lago fumed after the board voted for a pardon. "This is a travesty of justice."
Earlier in the day, the Associated Press reported that Patricia Kennealy Morrison called the pardon a cheap political ploy. Morrison claims she was married in a pagan ceremony to Morrison a year before his death but that they did not file the proper paperwork.
The pardon was welcome news, however, to Doors fans in the audience at the board meeting.
Michael Krehl of Tallahassee -- who said he was attending the proceedings as "Mr. Mojo Risin'," invoking the title of a hit Doors song -- said he doubted that Crist had sought the pardon for political reasons.
"He's trying to get the vote of the cool people?" Krehl asked. "Rockers? The majority of them don't vote at this point, because they're so fed up with the whole friggin' system."
Krehl added, "For the first time in probably a long time, I'm feeling like, hey, government is pretty cool."
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/dec/09/091652/clemency-board-pardons-jim-morrison/news-breaking/