BATON ROUGE, La. — Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards has been hospitalized with pneumonia, only days after he was released from a prior stay for breathing problems.
The four-term Democratic former governor's wife, Trina Edwards, posted about the latest hospitalization Wednesday on Facebook.
"Edwin became very ill yesterday evening and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He has pneumonia in both lungs and will be here for several days, but we expect him to get better and be back home soon. Thank you all for your continued prayers," Trina Edwards wrote.
The 93-year-old Edwin Edwards spent the prior weekend in a Baton Rouge hospital after having respiratory problems. At that point, his biographer Leo Honeycutt said the former governor had tested negative for both COVID-19 and pneumonia.
Honeycutt said Wednesday that Edwin Edwards again tested negative for COVID-19 after returning to the hospital.
"Doctors are administering antibiotics and conducting breathing treatments to contain and treat the pneumonia," Honeycutt said in a statement.
Edwards dominated Louisiana politics for much of the late 20th century, serving as governor from 1972 to 1980, from 1984 to 1988 and then from 1992 to 1996. He went to federal prison following a May 2000 corruption conviction for a scheme to rig riverboat casino licenses, but has always proclaimed his innocence. He was released in 2011 and remains popular in the state.
