Imprisoned former WorldCom Inc chief Bernard Ebbers has joined the list of high-profile corporate defendants petitioning for clemency in the final days of President George W. Bush's term in office.
Ebbers, convicted of orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud, joins former publishing mogul Conrad Black and 1980s-era financier Michael Milken in seeking clemency.
The Justice Department said on Wednesday that Ebbers has submitted a petition for commutation of his 25-year sentence to the Office of the Pardon Attorney. The petition is under review, Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said.
Black is also seeking commutation of his prison sentence, while Milken is petitioning for a presidential pardon.
The U.S. Constitution gives the president power to grant pardons that erase convictions and shorten prison sentences. With Bush to leave office on January 20, prominent and not-so prominent criminals are making their cases for clemency.
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