In November 1964, after a six-month trial, Lenny Bruce was found guilty of obscenity by the state of New
York for language he had used in a stand-up comedy routine. Sentenced to four months' imprisonment,
Bruce never served a day, he died while appealing his conviction Bruce was officially pardoned by New
York Governor George Pataki in 2003—the first posthumous pardon in New York history. Pataki claimed
that the pardon was "a declaration of New York's commitment to upholding the First Amendment," which
guarantees freedom of speech.
Question
Governor Pataki implied that Lenny Bruce should not have
O used profane language
been found guilty
O appealed his conviction
o violated the First Amendment

By pardoning Lenny Bruce, Governor George Pataki implied that Bruce should not have been found guilty. All Bruce did was use profane language during a stand-up comedy routine. That wasn't something he should've been sentenced for, and Pataki realizes that. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech, and by sentencing Bruce to imprisonment for obscene language, the judge violated that right.