(FORTUNE Magazine) – -- NASHVILLE -- A Tennessee prison inmate claims in a federal lawsuit his request for early parole was denied by the state Parole Board because he is a man. John Stacey, who is serving two consecutive five-year terms for assault with intent to commit murder in DeKalb County, claims in the suit filed . . . in U.S. District Court ((that)) ten women were granted clemency in 1985 and 1986, while no men were. In the suit, Stacy, 75, charges four members of the board and a board hearing officer violated his constitutional rights by denying a request to parole him about two years before he became eligible . . .

None of the defendants were available for comment. -- From a UPI dispatch.