Don Siegelman released from solitary, says son

Corrections officials released former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman has from solitary confinement at a Louisiana prison facility on Friday, according to his son.

Joseph Siegelman said Thursday his father, governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003, returned to the general population at a federal prison in Oakdale, La. on Dec. 11, about a day after his family said the governor was in solitary. But Don Siegelman’s communication privileges will remain limited until Dec. 30.

“He still cannot call or have any visitors, where my mom and sister are concerned, and friends and family will not have the opportunity to speak with him over the holidays,” Joseph Siegelman said.

Gov. Siegelman went to the facility's Special Housing Unit following a phone interview on the Thom Hartmann Program, a liberal talk show, on Oct. 15. Officials limited Siegelman’s communications to written correspondence.

The family said they had not been able to speak with him or received an explanation for his confinement. Joseph Siegelman said Thursday they were still uncertain on the reasons. Officials appeared to impose the limits on his telephone and visitation privileges on Oct. 29.

Corrections officers use solitary confinement for anything from protection of an inmate to punishment for breaking prison rules. Prison administrators make those determinations. Oakdale declined to comment on Siegelman's status last week.

Joseph Siegelman, who serves as one of Gov. Siegelman's defense attorneys, spoke to his father on the phone Wednesday. He said the governor was glad to be out of solitary.

“He’s going to start to eat better,” he said. “He had to eat whatever they put through the door or window they have. Hopefully things will get back to normal as far as life in prison is concerned.”

A jury convicted Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in 2006 on charges of bribery, related to $500,000 in contributions made by Scrushy to Siegelman’s 1999 campaign for a statewide lottery. Siegelman appointed Scrushy to the state’s Certificate of Need (CON) board, which oversees hospital improvements, shortly afterward. Siegelman was also convicted on a separate obstruction of justice charge related to the payment of $9,200 for a motorcycle.

Prosecutors said the contribution amounted to a bribe. Siegelman said the transaction was a normal part of politics. A judge released the former governor from prison in 2008 on an appeal bond. Siegelman returned in 2012 after an appeals court upheld most of his convictions. His current release date is Aug. 8, 2017.

A federal appeals court rejected Siegelman’s motion for a new trial in May. Siegelman has another appeal pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Scrushy has completed his sentence and relocated to the Houston area.

Joseph Siegelman said he and his sister had planned to drive down to see the governor this weekend – an eight or nine hour trip one way – but they would cancel that with the remaining restrictions on the governor. The family was uncertain if there were any other inquiries they could pursue.

“The eight weeks he was put in the concrete and steel box, he can’t get that back,” he said. “Even if the Bureau of Prisons decided to expunge the 60-day period where he cannot have any visitors or receive telephone calls, he’s still not going to regain the ability to see his family over the holidays.”