Fla. Gov. Considering Morrison Pardon

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Gov. Charlie Crist said he was seriously considering pardoning music icon Jim Morrison's 1970 indecent exposure and profanity convictions stemming from a Miami concert the year before.

"He died when he was 27. That's really a kid, when you think about it, and obviously he was having some challenges," Crist said Monday, after attending a rally against global warming with rock star Sheryl Crow. "There's some dispute about how solid the case was.

Morrison's arrest generated a lot of attention at the time and is still a part of the Morrison legend. He was drunk at the concert and police said he exposed himself, which Morrison denied.

Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek said Tuesday that he never saw Morrison expose himself and none of the more than 100 photos entered into evidence showed Morrison's genitals."

<snip>

"Manzarek was elated that Crist is considering the pardon.

"You know what would really be nice? Florida is Jim's home state. He's a Florida boy. Wouldn't it great if Florida could finally say, 'Hey, native son, Your name is cleared. We recognize you as a young American poet,'" he said."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/17/entertainment/e192316D24.DTL