Johnny Cash was arrested in Starkville, Miss., on May 11, 1965, for public drunkeness. He wrote the song, "Starkville City Jail," and performed it at San Quentin State Prison on Feb. 24, 1969. Cash played at Mississippi State University again in 1970 and gave many officers involved with his arrest front row tickets to the performance. It's time for the community to formally appreciate the depth and humanity of the Man in Black by renewing the symbolic pardon granted by the city and county in 2007.

The city of Starkville and Oktibbeha County issued symbolic pardons during the first festival, but we need them to renew the annual pardon. The pardon doesn't suggest anyone condoned Cash's behavior. It symbolically recognizes Cash an imperfect human who made mistakes but gained insight and wisdom by learning from his indiscretions. It's not about Johnny Cash getting arrested; it's about what his life symbolized to so many people that no matter what happens in life you can redeem yourself.