Edwards, who turns 76 on Thursday, entered a prison in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 21 after he was found guilty of extorting riverboat casino license applicants for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 1990s.
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, who headed the Edwards prosecution team, says the clemency drive shows that Edwards hasn't changed since.
"This is nothing but further evidence that Edwin Edwards is absolutely unwilling to accept responsibility for the crimes he was convicted of committing," Letten said.
But Baton Rouge lawyer Karl Koch, a spokesman for The Committee, says petitioning to help Edwards is a moral issue.
"Forget the law for a minute, because this is not about whether Edwin Edwards is guilty or whether he got a fair trail," Koch said. "It's this question: Is it right and moral to take a 75-year-old man and lock him up for 10 years under these circumstances?
"Really, only the most hardhearted among us would be happy with that result," Koch said.
Sounds epic to me. Details here.