Renee Gill Pratt

A former Louisiana lawmaker has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for her role in a plot to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked for charitable and educational programs.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former Louisiana lawmaker whose corruption trial ended with a deadlocked jury is asking a federal judge to acquit her of a charge she conspired to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in government grant money earmarked for charitable and educational programs.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A mistrial isn't what prosecutors wanted but court watchers say it gives them a chance to sharpen their focus and simplify their case in a pending retrial of former state lawmaker Renee Gill Pratt.