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More prosecutors join Baton Rouge DA's push to halt 'rushed' clemency hearings for death row inmates

7 months 1 week 20 hours ago Wednesday, September 20 2023 Sep 20, 2023 September 20, 2023 10:54 AM September 20, 2023 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - More of Louisiana's top prosecutors are joining East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore in seeking an injunction to deny a series of expedited clemency hearings for the "worst of the worst" in the state's prison system. 

A press conference being held Wednesday was set to include multiple Louisiana district attorneys filing similar motions of opposition against the 20 clemency hearings planned so far. 

In August, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association issued a statement expressing the board's objection to the hearings, saying the hearings were "untimely" and being held in the "11th hour" of Governor Edwards' term. In recent months, Edwards revealed he was opposed to the death penalty, spurring a flurry of last-minute pleas for mercy from Louisiana's death row inmates. 

"A single non-capital clemency application generally takes a year to be completed," the LDAA said in a statement Wednesday. "The applicants are attempting to force 50+ capital clemency hearings into a 4-month period. This process is a direct attack upon and complete disregard for the victims, their families, and the rule of law. The rushed and hurried consideration of these complex and most serious applications introduces chaos and distrust into a deliberate, measured, and trustworthy process."

"On September 12, 2023, EBRDA Hillar Moore and his staff filed oppositions to the current process in 3 cases. On Wednesday, September 20, 2023, multiple Louisiana District Attorneys will be lodging additional oppositions to capital clemency hearings in many more cases."

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has also filed a lawsuit in opposition of the hearings. 

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