Thomas Condon will have to spend at least a few more days in jail before he finds out if a judge will cut short his sentence for illegally photographing bodies at the Hamilton County morgue.

Thomas Condon was in court Thursday hoping for an early release from prison.

        Mr. Condon, along with many others in the packed courtroom, had hoped to get a final decision Thursday on his request for an early release from his 2-1/2-year prison sentence.

        But when Mr. Condon refused to answer some questions from Common Pleas Judge Norbert Nadel, the judge surprised everyone by saying he needed more time to consider Mr. Condon's fate. He said he would decide no later than Monday.

        That disappointed Mr. Condon's friends and family, and raised questions about his chances for an early release.

        “I came with high hopes,” said Mr. Condon's wife, Kelly Blank. “These past few months have seemed like 10 years. There has to be a resolution at some point.”

        It's unusual for a judge to allow a prisoner to attend a hearing for early release unless there is a reasonable chance the prisoner will actually win his freedom.

        At the start of the hearing, the judge seemed ready to make a decision. He said he had read the trial transcripts, letters written on Mr. Condon's behalf and a report about Mr. Condon's conduct during his nearly three months in prison.

        Judge Nadel's demeanor changed, however, after a brief exchange with Mr. Condon's lawyer, H. Louis Sirkin. The judge said he wanted Mr. Condon to answer some questions about whether he was granted permission by anyone to photograph bodies last year at the morgue. In the past, Mr. Condon has insisted he had permission.

        “I don't want to beat a dead horse,” Judge Nadel said. “But I want to ask you:, Who gave you that permission?”

        “I feel that puts an undue burden on (Mr. Condon),” Mr. Sirkin said. “He accepts his responsibility. He accepts that what he did was wrong.”

        Mr. Sirkin said the question had been addressed at Mr. Condon's trial, and that it might be inappropriate to address it again because a lawsuit has since been filed against the county by relatives of the people Mr. Condon photographed.

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