Clemency Efforts
Mother Jones stated "a mix of racial politics and tough-on-crime posturing blocked release for more than three decades" even though several LSP wardens said that Rideau was completely rehabilitated. Rideau remained incarcerated by the mid-1990s, while other inmates with similar sentences had been paroled. An investigation by 20/20 uncovered statements by Governor of Louisiana Edwin Edwards; Edwards said that he believed that Rideau was rehabilitated, but he said that he would not release Rideau under any circumstances. Rideau said that governors did not advocate for his release because he became "a political football" and that it would be difficult for a prisoner in that state to be released from prison."
Read more about this topic: Wilbert Rideau
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