Jim Morrison of “The Doors” granted posthumous pardon

Jim Morrison of "The Doors" granted posthumous pardon

Jim Morrison, the frontman and vocalist of the 1960s rock band "The Doors", on Thursday was granted a pardon for his conviction of an indecent exposure charge more than 39 years after his death. Band member and keyboardist Ray Manzarek said that Morisson was "just doing a mind trip - as they would say - a mind trip on the audience and they totally fell for it." Morrison paid a fine of $500 and served a six-month jail sentence for the conviction. The Florida Board of Executive Clemency approved the pardon of the singer, who filed an appeal with the state before going to France. He was later found dead in a bathtub in his rented Paris apartment on July 3, 1971. The exact cause of the death of Jim Morrison has been the subject of much speculation and controversy in the music scene.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist started to look at the possibility of granting the singer a pardon in 2007. Crist needed to secure an approval of the pardon from the two other members of the clemency board as required by state law. Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson had earlier said he was in favor of the pardon. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink on Wednesday said he is also voting yes to the pardon, making the panel's decision unanimous and in effect.

Members of "The Doors" claim that their bandmate did not expose himself in front of an audience attending a Miami concert. "It never actually happened. It was mass hypnosis," Manzarek said. Manzarek and band guitarist Robby Krieger said that Jim Morrison was just influenced by an acting troupe that exposed themselves.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Thursday December 09 2010, 3:27 AM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0