hornary doctorate degree. didn t you try to retire at one time. i was going to retire in 2003. okay. i knew that because of financial reasons not because of academic reasons morris brown lost accreditation. i tell you i would stay and teach until we got straight. i m fulfilling my word. i promised we would stay until we got straight and i ll do that. it s been 14 years. i want to retire. yeah? because i want to be i want to rent your boat you own. [ laughter ] you know what i m saying? i want to do that but i m going to stay until we get straight. you got some faculty members here who sometimes get paid late but because they love the school, they are here. yeah. not doing this thing by myself. i certainly hope that morris brown gets straight for a lot of reasons, one because it s a historic institution and important to black people in this country and the community of atlanta and also, so you can
important to black people in this country and the community of atlanta and also, so you can take a break. help morris brown so he can take a ride on my boat. also help me buy a boat. that s right. thank you very much. okay. thank you. and the battery is dead. again. uh-oh. you need a new phone. and you deserve it on the best network. verizon.
reporter: yeah. that s right, thomas. in the past few minutes, the decision from the parole board. literally within the past few minutes. it s voted to let the denial of clemency stand. that means that she will be executed tonight at 7:00 here at the prison. again, the parole board denying appeals by her lawyers and even within the last few hours, by the catholic church as we hengsed earlier in this hour, the archbishop of atlanta wrote a letter on behalf of pope francis to the parole board asking them to commute her sentence saying that they wanted a sentence that would more reflect justice and mercy. but as we ve been reporting, her three grown children testified in front of that parole board. they say that she has changed her life in the past 18 years on the death row and a model inmate. again, her other parts of her family, the relatives of her
execution has been carried out, but we re told that her lawyers are franticly trying to appeal the ruling, but this afternoon, that clemency board denied clemency, denied to commute her sentence to life in prison without parole, despite an appeal from pope francis. the archbishop of atlanta had written a letter on behalf of the pontiff asking for mercy. her grown children were also at that hearing and say she has turned her life around since she was convicted of plotting the 1997 murder of her husband. but her husband s relatives say she planned and executed her plan for murder and his life was not for her to take. her case has reignited the debate for life in this country. and despite supreme court support, executions in the u.s. have dropped from 98 16 years ago to 20 so far this year. the 21st was scheduled to be carried out a few moments ago here at this prison behind me,
reporter: that s right. as you mentioned, that parole board handing down the decision to allow the decision to stand and deny the decision of february. they reconsidered it today. but they are letting that decision stand so she is still scheduled to be executed here at this prison in jackson, georgia, at 7:00 tonight. but as you mentioned, it was a dramatic day at the parole hearing. pope francis, atlanta archbishop, the archbishop of atlanta wrote a letter on behalf of pope francis asking the parole board to commute her sentence and to perhaps issue in the letters words a sentence of more justice and mercy. however, parole board decided not to follow that. also, and three grown children, her three children testified in that hearing saying she is a