Jim Morrison Pardon for 1970 Indecent Exposure, Profanity Convictions Possible
Jim Morrison (AP Photo, file)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS/AP) Florida's outgoing governor wants to posthumously pardon rock 'n' roll icon Jim Morrison, the lead singer of The Doors who was famously convicted of exposing himself at an anarchic 1969 concert in Miami.
Gov. Charlie Crist, a 54-year-old baby boomer and Morrison fan, said the evidence that Morrison unzipped his pants was flimsy and prosecutors were trying to make an example of the singer, whose on-stage excesses and appetite for sex and drugs were legendary.
"There's some troubling aspects to it as to whether there was a valid conviction. The more I learn about it, the more I'm convinced a wrong may have been done here. My heart just bleeds for his legacy and his family," said Crist, who leaves office in January and figures "it's sort of now or never."
Exactly what happened that night at the Dinner Key Auditorium is one of rock 'n' roll history's enduring mysteries.
According to police, The Doors' singer was drunk at the concert and exposed himself, which Morrison denied.
Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek told The Associated Press that he never saw Morrison expose himself and