his 99-year sentence for first-degree murder commuted by governor ray blanton. ally, no one would have noticed. but for two years charges of political favoritism and more recently of bribery have plagued the blanton administration's handling of executive clemency. >> turns out the fbi became interested in the blanton administration very early. and it's important to remember that they were focused on the governor's office, particularly the office of extraditions, working on pardons and parole process. but you had this small crowd in the governor's office that were up to no good. and it wasn't just pardons and paroles and the clemency for cash scandal, it was liquor or store licensing -- liquor store licensing, and it was highway construction bid rigging and all this stuff. people went to prison. governor blanton himself later went to prison. and so that was the -- there was this, you know, nest of corruption in the governor's office on the first floor of the state capitol. and so on december 15th of 1978, just a month and a half after the election where blanton ac

by this time the fbi was deeply into their investigation of the prior administration of governor ray blantonpriceless had to do with the governor's office was releasing prisoners for all the wrong reasons. a process to go through, that was all being sidestepped. this came to be known in the news media as the clemency for cash scandal. >> carl burmeister walked out of tennessee state prison a free man, his 99 year sentence for first-degree murder commuted by governor blanton. normally no one would have noticed. but for 2 years, and more recently of bribery plagued the claim of executive clemency. >> they became interested in the blanton administration early. it is important to remember they were focused on the governor's off is particularly the office of extraditions working on pardons but had this small crowd in the governor is up to no good. it wasn't just clemency for cash. it was liquor store licensing, highway construction and all this stuff. people went to prison. governor blanton -- that was -- this nest of corruption in the governor's office on the first floor and so on december 15, 1