NATION IN BRIEF - MICHIGAN - Plea by Ill Teen-Age Prisoner Is Denied

Gov. James J. Blanchard of Michigan denied a request that he commute the prison sentence of a 16-year-old repeat offender with terminal cancer who wanted to be released from a prison hospital to die at home. Alan Rogers Jr. is serving a 4- to 10-year sentence for robbing and assaulting a retired police officer. He initiated the clemency request after doctors told him he had inoperable cancer and probably would die within a month. Blanchard asked the state Department of Corrections to explore other options to allow Rogers to return to his parents’ home to die.