Lenny Bruce is not guilty of obscenity!
The comedian was pardoned some 40 years after his initial 1964 conviction and 38 years after his death by New York Governor George Pataki.
"The posthumous pardon of Lenny Bruce is a declaration of New York's commitment to upholding the First Amendment," Pataki said.
Comedians including Robin Williams and Penn and Teller petitioned the govenor to support the pardon.
On November 4, 1964, Bruce had been convicted in a Manhattan court of "word crimes" committed in the spring of 64 while he had been performing at the Cafe Au Go Go. He was especially chided for jokes made about the former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Lenny Bruce served four months at Riker's Island prison. He died of a drug overdose two years later.
Bruce also faced another trial for "word crimes" in Los Angeles and San Francisco but was found not guilty in these two cases. A further conviction in Illinois was later overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court.
This is the first posthumous pardon ever granted by the state of New York, according to the New York State Division of Parole.
facts and quote from CNN.com.