NPR: Examining the Prosecution of a Former Ala. Governor

Examining the Prosecution of a Former Ala. Governor

In a case that has held the attention of Alabama for more than two years, the sentencing hearing for former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy began today in Montgomery. Birmingham Weekly reports that about a year ago, a federal jury "found Scrushy and Siegelman guilty on charges of bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud. Siegelman was convicted also on an additional charge of obstruction of justice."

Siegelman, a Democrat, is fighting his possible 30-year sentence by alleging that his prosecution was engineered by White House strategist Karl Rove, the Los Angeles Times reports. And one former Republican attorney general and several Democrats think there may be reason to investigate his claims.

"From start to finish, this case has been riddled with irregularities. It does not pass the smell test," Grant Woods, a Republican former attorney general of Arizona, told the Times.

Scott Horton, a human rights and armed conflict lawyer who writes the No Comment blog for Harper's Magazine, has written a stinging critique of the case against Siegelman.

His piece reads like a "J'Accuse" of the political, legal and media establishments in Alabama. Calling it one of the darkest moments in Alabama justice since the trial of the "Scottsboro Boys" (the 1930s trial of nine black teenagers accused of raping two white girls), he claims that there are clear signs of Rove's fingerprints on the prosecution of the former governor. Horton also says that the politicization of the Justice Department was a key factor in Siegelman being prosecuted in the first place.

The Times story notes that White House officials say they can't talk about the case while it remains in court. And the U.S. attorney whose office brought the case, Leura Canary, whose husband is a Rove protege, called the allegation that her politics influenced the case "a ridiculous assertion." Canary recused herself from the case after Siegelman's lawyers complained.

6:50 PM ET | 06-26-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

So Gonzalez firing those DAs was just the tip of the iceberg. Why am I not the least bit surprised? The Harper's blog is interesting and revealing. Yes this is the way tyrannies operate, from Stalin, to Mao to Hitler. They all used the law to get rid of political opponents and critics. It's ironic that members of the party that trumpets individual liberty and responsibility, plus minimal government in our lives, should be led by men who turn around and use their powers in much the same way as those they claim to oppose ideologically. The word 'hypocrite' is too easy. The word 'criminal' is much more difficult but perhaps more appropriate.

Sent by John R. Otten | 5:45 PM ET | 06-27-2007

I cannot understand why the public is not outraged by this. The sporting thing to do is for Bush yo pardon him. He is certainly no more a criminal than Scooter Libby. We have to do somthing. imagine if you were in jail for somthing you did not do. Would you want people fighting for you?

Sent by Mike Donoghue | 8:46 AM ET | 03-06-2008

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