By Sam Hoyle
WHOTV
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Governor Branstad has denied ten applications from Iowa inmates seeking commutation.
Six of the applicants are serving life sentences for murder. The others were convicted of robbery and kidnapping.
A spokesman for Branstad says he has not yet made a decision on the application for commutation from 66-year-old Rasberry Williams.
Williams is serving a life sentence for the 1974 fatal shooting of a neighbor, Lester Givhan, outside a pool hall. His bid to have his sentence commuted so he can become eligible for parole has won the backing of prison wardens, the prosecutor who convicted him and the judge who oversaw his trial.
In 18 years of office so far, Governor Branstad has commuted life sentences of two inmates.
Full story: INMATE COMMUTATION: Ten Denied, One Hopeful