Free Lenny Bruce!

The authors of the very interesting and worthwhile book, The Trials of Lenny Bruce, are trying to posthumously get everybody's favorite sick comic pardoned for his 1964 obscenity conviction in New York. To that end Ronald Collins and David Skover (with legal work being handled by well-known First Amendment lawyer Robert Corn-Revere) have started a petition that will be go to NY Gov. George Pataki.

An interesting side note: Lenny lost his appeal of this conviction because he foolishly acted as his own lawyer, an undertaking that puts him in some highly dubious but hoolariously entertaining company including Charles Manson, Mumia Abu Jamal, and Jack Kevorkian.

Comments

[Sean]

As auto-lawyers go, Ferguson was the best. In addition to his antics mentioned in the article, he also tried to subpoena John Elway and the newly elected Bill Clinton along with dozens of other people who had nothing to do with his case. When the judge wouldn't let him, he was shocked to find that he didn't receive an automatic mistrial.

[fyodor]

For some reason, hearing about this made me have the anti-fantasy of hearing someone complain that this is just being done to whitewash the whole episode and to pretend the injustice to Lenny never happened. Is the cynical part of my mind playing tricks on me, or are there folks out there who would really react this way?!?

[quaker120]

...Bruce was truly funny only twice in his tortured, abbreviated career -- and only once intentionally.

Listen to "The Berkeley Concert" (if you can find it) and ye shall be cured of this delusion.

[Anonymous]

For who then who shall be champion, if not the lawyer?