Groundhog Is Innocent: Death Warrant Dropped After Evidence Phil Was Just The Fall Guy

Last week we reported in this blog that the Ohio attorney general wanted the death penalty against Punxsatawny Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog that predicted an early spring.

Death warrant dropped for this guy  

It turns out the prosecutor had the wrong guy. He admits it and has dropped the charges. The Groundhog is safe to forecast the weather on another day.

Phil's handler, Bill Deeley, said that the groundhog had actually accurately predicted six more weeks of winter, but Deeley misinterpreted Phil's language on the matter and thus Deeley delivered the wrong message.

So Phil did not mislead and defraud us into thinking an early spring was at hand. The Ohio prosecutor is also not going after Deeley, because he made an innocent mistake and did not intend to deceive the public.

I also think part of the reason people are no longer calling for Phil's head is because the weather has improved somewhat in the Northeast. It's not exactly warm and sunny, but the snow has largely stopped, which makes people a bit less frustrated and a bit more helpful. Cooler heads are prevailing, even if those heads are still wearing hats because it isn't that warm out yet.

Of course, Phil might ask this question, too: Why are you relying on a rodent to forecast the weather?