31 December 2010 Sorry about that, pardon me

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/05/new.mexico.garrett.bonney/index.html

CNN) -- Billy the Kid is dead and probably doesn't care, but a pardon for the cold-blooded killer may be in the offing.

Gov. Bill Richardson, called a "Billy the Kid buff," is looking at an old promise by another governor, and not the Kid's reputation, in deciding whether to issue a posthumous pardon, a spokeswoman said Thursday

Billy the Kid



This ferrotype photograph is a mirror image of the outlaw





http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-09/entertainment/ent.jim.morrison.pardon_1_jim-morrison-exposure-charge-indecent-exposure?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ

Doors singer Jim Morrison wins indecent exposure pardon December 09, 2010
From Susan Candiotti, CNN

Jim Morrison (second from right) died in Paris in 1971 while his appeal against the conviction was pending.

The Florida Board of Executive Clemency on Thursday voted unanimously to posthumously pardon Jim Morrison, the charismatic lead singer for The Doors, four decades after Morrison was convicted of indecent exposure and open profanity

Cassi Creek:

The urge to pardon the already dead seems to be an exercise in extreme nonsense.

Other than seeking to garner votes there is no reason for any state board, governor, or federal executive to expend the effort and cost of pardoning offenses committed by the dead.

There is no dispute about the line of work William Bonny chose, and no doubt, that he did commit murders. To pardon him for a murder conviction that may have been somewhat questionable by today’s standards is wasted effort and time. To claim otherwise is to open questions as to the validity of many convictions that took place before the days of DNA sequencing and modern forensic science. His convictions should stand as they are. New Mexico has better things to do with its money and the time of its employees.

Jim Morrison was arrested for indecent exposure. The arrest could well have been a political bust or perhaps a staged PR event. Either way, the charges, indecent exposure and profanity were minor in nature even then and could well have been brought to bear against many Florida officials whose behavior once inebriated was likely no more in keeping with the local Baptist customs. Again, wasted time, money, and media attention brought about by a politician who truly should know better and whose public record shows him in a far better light than does this posthumous foolishness.

No more posthumous pardons for historical or pop-culture personalities. We don’t need to revise history.

Happy New Year to all!