Edwin Edwards Placed Himself in Hospice Care

Despite a myriad of legal woes, Edwin Edwards, The Cajun Prince, remains as Louisiana's most popular Governor. There are those in the state, myself included, that believe that if Edwin, not John Bel, Edwards was to run for Governor again, he'd at least make the runoff and would have a pretty strong chance of winning.

Right now the former Chief Executive of our state is facing a different battle. Edwards says it was he who made the decision to place himself in hospice care on Sunday evening. At the time, the former Governor was complaining of pain in his right lung. Although, subsequent tests found no issue with that lung.

One thing the former Governor wanted to make clear, based on his comments to news organizations and supporters, was that he was not dying. Edwards said in a quote that was published on the KATC Television website,

While people assume that hospice means I'm dying, I assure everyone it's simply a matter of good and convenient care that is less trouble for everybody.  I've made no bones that I have considered myself on borrowed time for 20 years and we each know that all this fun has to end at some point.

Former Governor Edwards is 93 years old.

The former Governor spent eight years in federal prison for public corruption. Before his time in jail, he stayed in another form of public housing, the Governor's Mansion. He was a resident there for many years serving as our state's only four-term governor. Before his time as Governor Edwards served Louisiana as a member of the House of Representatives. He served in that position for seven years.

Edwards's road to prison began in the 90s as riverboat casinos were coming to Louisiana. In 2000 he was found guilty of extorting almost $3 million from companies that had applied for those casino licenses during his last term in office.

Edwards was incarcerated in 2002 and served eight years. He then transferred to a halfway house for another six months before he was eventually released.

The former Governor appears to be in good spirits despite this most recent setback. He told the Baton Rouge Advocate that he is already planning for his 95th birthday party. It's important to note that Edwards won't turn 94 until August 7th of this year. So, already looking forward to 95 is a sure sign that "Fast Eddie" still plans on being here for the party.

I suppose in life the only constant that we can count on is change. People, places, things, all get older. For example, if you've lived in South Louisiana for more than a few years you will probably recognize what you don't recognize anymore when you look at these photographs.