Edwards' bid for release denied

[Freddie Stubbs]

EWE's son also affected by ruling

By PENNY BROWN ROBERTS
[e-mail]
Advocate staff writer

A federal judge has denied former Gov. Edwin Edwards' latest bid for freedom -- rejecting arguments that the jury was biased, prosecutors unscrupulous and the presiding judge drugged.
In a ruling made public Friday, U.S. District Judge Ralph Tyson refused to toss out Edwards' conviction and 10-year sentence in a riverboat licensing extortion scheme.

The decision also applies to his son, Stephen Edwards, as well as former Edwards aide Andrew Martin and businessman Bobby Johnson. The four asked the court to vacate or set aside the sentence in February.

Attorney Mike Small said Friday lawyers for the men were considering an appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

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