Death row inmates will not get clemency hearings for now
BATON ROUGE - Uproar over the potential commutation of 56 death row inmates should settle down after the parole board voted to table the future hearings.
Controversy spun up last month when the petitions were filed, then East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore says the parole board started scheduling the hearings almost immediately. The first was supposed to be this Friday.
Moore filed his official objection last week, shortly afterward, Attorney General Jeff Landry chimed in.
Both Moore and Landry had concerns the board was not following the rules by granting these hearings, mostly because none of those inmates have an execution date set.
Proponents argued that a death date wasn't necessary, but the parole board's own lawyer disagreed.
Moore believes this issue is not over with.
"I think they kind of left it open that they were removing the cases from the docket at this time pending any other decision. I don't know what else can happen. I would anticipate that maybe the defense will file lawsuits," he said.
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Moore says it's good news for now,
"I spoke with the families today, particularly Warrick Dunn. He expressed his gratitude and relief that he doesn't have to worry about this now, but I did tell him it's subject to lawsuits I'm sure."