Jim Morrison Pardoned For Indecent Exposure Conviction

Jim Morrison has been  posthumously pardoned for his conviction in 1969 in Florida for lewd behaviour and indecent exposure.

The state’s governor Charlie Crist has secured enough votes from members of Florida’s Board of Executive Clemency to approve the pardon. The process started three years ago following a campaign by fans.

He was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $500 for his behaviour at the concert in Miami. But those close to the singer say that the conviction was an injustice and the verdict should be overturned rather than lead to a pardon.

A statement on Crist’s website reads: ” Governor Charlie Crist today during a meeting of the Florida Board of Executive Clemency requested a pardon for James Douglas “Jim” Morrison. The pardon was approved unanimously by the clemency board, which consists of the Governor and the Florida Cabinet. Governor Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson all voted for the measure.”

In his speech to the board Crist added: “Much controversy surrounds this conviction, and not only because many witnesses testified they did not see Mr. Morrison expose himself.

“Controversy also exists because Mr. Morrison was not arrested until four days after the concert. A case was brought against him only after newspaper articles recounted the alleged events at the concert, based on a complaint filed by an employee of the state attorney’s office who attended the concert.”

But Morrison’s widow Patricia is reported by UK newspaper Metro, as saying the pardon is a cheap political act and keyboard player RayManzarek is among those to maintain that Morrison never exposed himself at the gig.

Instead Morrison was attempting “mass hypnosis” on the crowd. “He was just doing a mind trip,” the Metro reports Manzarek as saying.

When Morrison died in 1971 he was in the process of appealing the case. Crist added: “If his appeal had been heard, a reviewing court could have resolved the controversies surrounding his conviction.”


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