Attorney Paul Minor denied emergency release to be with dying wife

Attorney Paul Minor denied emergency release to be with dying wife

Paul Minor, a prominent Mississippi attorney before being sent to prison on corruption charges along with former Alabama Governor Paul Siegelman, appealed the courts yesterday for an emergency release to be with his dying wife, Sylvia, who is suffering from brain cancer.

Minor has asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out the conviction, claiming the trial judge allowed improper jury instructions. And while the court considered that appeal, Minor wanted to be released on bond so he could be with Sylvia, whose demise is said to be ‘imminent.’

The court has rejected Minor’s request.

Minor, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who made a fortune in lawsuits against tobacco, asbestos and other businesses, is serving an 11-year sentence in a federal prison in Pensacola, Fla. He was convicted in March 2007 of bribing two judges.

Minor had sought a furlough earlier this year to be with his wife, and was granted only three hours to be at her side.

As previously reported by RAW STORY, prosecutors claimed that even though Minor is a non-violent offender who has never been deemed a flight risk, he was too dangerous to be let out of prison, because he is an alcoholic and because he violated the terms of his pre-trial release.

Minor’s lawyers stressed that their client had been sober for 27 months and that his substance abuse counselor pronounced his prospects for recovery to be “excellent.”

No word on what, if any role the alcoholism played in the court’s decision against the emergency furlough.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced earlier today that he is not reviewing the Justice Department’s prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Donald Siegelman on corruption charges at this time, nor other corruption cases involving Alaskan officials. Minor’s case was not ruled out specifically, although the connection between Minor and Siegelman makes a review by the Attorney General’s office for Mr. Minor look unlikely to take place in an urgent fashion in light of this statement. Raw Story will keep you posted on any further developments in the case.

via The Raw Story » Attorney Paul Minor denied emergency release to be with dying wife.