The 1987 kidnapping and suffocation death of Kankakee businessman Stephen Small is the subject of a clemency hearing today for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.

Nancy Rish claims she was involved in an abusive relationship with drug-dealer Danny Edwards, who plotted the kidnapping and carried out the crime. Rish was sentenced to life in prison. Now, 27 years later, Rish is asking the Review Board to set her free.

Danny Edwards was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Edwards has since said he planned the kidnapping alone.

Small was lured from his home with a phone call during the early-morning hours of September 2, 1987. He died having been buried alive in a wooden box three feet underground.

94.1 WGFA