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POLITICS > A POLITICAL RESURRECTION FROM A POSTHUMOUS PARDON?


6 Dec 2010

It is only fitting that one of Governor Charlie Crist’s parting actions from the political stage would be the posthumous pardon of a dead man; after all, Charlie Crist is, in a political sense, a “dead man walking.”

Governor Crist is vowing to submit Jim Morrison’s name to the state clemency board this month for a posthumous pardon of Morrison’s 1970 conviction on charges of profanity and indecent exposure. Morrison, the famed rock and roller of the American rock band The Doors, was arrested on charges of lewd and lascivious behavior following a concert in Miami where he supposedly appeared intoxicated, taunted fans, simulated masturbation and threatened to expose himself. The ill-fated concert ended with fans mobbing the stage.

Although he was sentenced to six months in jail, Morrison never served time in jail, due to his death at the age of 27 of a suspected heroin overdose. Doors‘ fans have always decried the conviction of their idol on the basis that the jury that convicted him was not comprised of his peers. For instance, they argue that no one on the jury was younger than 40.

Apparently, our governor agrees with the Doors’ fans. He has publicly stated that the more he reads about Morrison’s case the more convinced he is that an injustice has been done. Of course, when it comes to our governor, his public statements don’t necessarily reflect his private sentiments—if he actually possesses any sincere sentiments—but may merely be the latest in a long line of political schemes to ingratiate himself to a particular segment of the electorate.

Could it be that Governor Crist, who has publicly committed political suicide by shamelessly pandering to all sides of the political spectrum in hopes of furthering his political career, is attempting to resurrect his political aspirations by courting a new political base? Is he now going after Doors’ fans, substance abusers and public exhibitionists? Don’t be surprised if Charlie is not taking up their cause just as “sincerely” as he has everyone else’s over the years. I, for one, fully expect him to come out any day now in a Jim Morrison T-shirt calling for the legalization of marijuana and public nudity.

Don Walton