Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman Released From Prison
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Alabama, DemocratsHe’s going to appeal his 7-year conviction, and it looks like the 60 Minutes piece embedded here could be part of the reason.
Here’s the update from Birmingham Times:
MONTGOMERY — A federal appellate court today ordered former Gov. Don Siegelman released from prison while he appeals his 2006 conviction, but denied co-defendant Richard Scrushy’s request to be released.Siegelman attorney Vince Kilborn said Siegelman would be released sometime Friday morning. “His wife and his daughter, Dana, are driving out to get him,” Kilborn said.
Scrushy attorney Art Leach said he had been told the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Scrushy’s request, but had no more details this evening.
Siegelman has been in an Oakdale, La., prison camp for nearly nine months. A federal jury in 2006 convicted Siegelman and Scrushy of federal funds bribery. Prosecutors alleged Scrushy bought a seat on a state board with a $500,000 donation to Siegelman’s lottery campaign.
The judges wrote that Siegelman met both requirements for an appeal bond: He is not a flight risk and his appeal raises a substantial question of law or fact likely to result in reversal or an order for a new trial.
“After thorough review of this complex and protracted record, we conclude Siegelman has satisfied the criteria set out in the statute, and has specifically met his burden of showing that his appeal raises substantial questions of law or fact,” the judges wrote.
We’ll have more as it develops…
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 and is filed under Alabama, Democrats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Karl Rove’s handi-work………sure would be nice if he went to jail finally.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:17 pm
[...] prosecution and conviction of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman’s in February and March of this year, and now it appears that the House Judiciary Committee wants to put Rove in the hot [...]