Jim Morrison may win pardon for indecent exposure, 41 years on

The governor of Florida may pardon Jim Morrison for behaving indecently on stage – 41 years after the event. Outgoing governor Charlie Crist said he is considering a posthumous pardon of the Doors frontman, who was sentenced to jail in 1969 for exposing himself and swearing at a crowd.

"Stay tuned," Crist told The Hill this week. "It's something I'm willing to look into in the time I have left."

The Doors' performance at Miami's Dinner Key auditorium, on 1 March 1969, is one of the most notorious concerts in American rock'n'roll history. Morrison arrived at the oversold gig looking the worse for wear, fired up from a day of drinking and a provocative play he had seen in Los Angeles the night before. He antagonised the crowd, and recordings certainly show he used some naughty words. He did take off his shirt, though, and he did ask if the audience wanted to "see his cock", but it's unclear if he did actually, er, show the audience his morrison. He spurred a stage invasion and got into a fight with the promoter. But the subsequent six-week trial was filled with contradictory testimonies and debates over "free speech".

Morrison was ultimately cleared on charges of lascivious behaviour and, bizarrely, drunkenness, but he was convicted of profanity and indecent exposure. Sentenced to six months in prison and a $500 fine, he died on bail in Paris, pending appeal.

"There [is] some doubt about how solid the case was," Crist said in a 2007 interview. After losing his Senate bid last week to Republican candidate Marco Rubio, the governor has until January to issue a pardon. His final meeting with Florida's board of executive clemency will take place on 9 December, the day before what would have been Morrison's 68th birthday. "Anything," Crist promised, "is possible."