Funeral services for Sylvia Minor are Friday in New Orleans, and her imprisoned husband, a former Mississippi lawyer, hopes to be there.

It wasn’t clear Thursday if Paul Minor would be granted a pass.

Sylvia Minor, who was 62, died Monday of brain cancer.

Paul Minor wanted to be by her side before she died but his requests were denied. Now he wants permission to go to the funeral.

His attorney says officials at the Florida prison where Minor is serving an 11-year sentence denied the request to go to the funeral. But he hopes the U.S. Justice Department will grant a temporary release.

The 63-year-old Minor was one of Mississippi’s most successful civil lawsuit attorneys before being convicted of bribing two judges.