Former House speaker Jim Black wants sentence commuted

RALEIGH (Winston-Salem Journal) - Former House Speaker Jim Black wants President Obama to send him home, or at least send him to a federal prison closer to it.

WRAL-TV reported Wednesday that Black's attorneys have asked Obama to commute his sentence, or let him serve the remainder of his five-year sentence for a corruption conviction in North Carolina or South Carolina.

Black attorney Whit Powell said his client's health is poor and his wife suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease.

The 74-year-old Black is in a Pennsylvania federal prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge in 2007. The Mecklenburg County Democrat acknowledged taking money from chiropractors while pushing their agenda at the Legislature.