Madoff Wants to Make 'Dying Plea' for Release

Bernie Madoff, who disclosed last month that he is dying of kidney disease, wants to make a "final dying, personal plea" for freedom, the fraudster's lawyer said Thursday in a request for a new hearing. Attorney Brandon Sample said it would be "eminently reasonable" to schedule a hearing in which Madoff, 81, could speak to a judge in New York from the federal prison in North Carolina where he is 11 years into a 150-year sentence, reports Reuters.

Sample said Madoff wants to tell the judge he has accepted responsibility for his crimes and feels genuine remorse. Prosecutors, who have argued against releasing Madoff, said his accepting responsibility at this point would be "self-serving." Sample said Madoff had found somebody who would let him stay at their home if he was granted compassionate release, but the individual does not want their identity to be public knowledge, reports the New York Post. (More Bernard Madoff stories.)