He's out: Former Gov. Don Siegelman released from prison
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman left a federal prison in Louisiana on Wednesday morning, nearing the end of a sentence over his 2006 conviction on bribery and obstruction of justice charges.
Chip Hill, a former aide to and friend of Siegelman’s, said Wednesday the family was informed of his release Wednesday morning. The governor is expected to be on supervised probation for some time. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the governor’s sentence runs through August 8.
“As this dark and difficult time in his life comes to an end, Don Siegelman’s courage and grace and innocence shine through," said Gregory B. Craig, Siegelman's attorney, in a statement. "We are overjoyed at the thought that we will have him back with us again. At a time of such unrest and uncertainty, the world will be a better place with Don Siegelman back in it.”
It is not clear if or when Siegelman will be able to speak publicly after his release. The governor was traveling to Birmingham Wednesday.
The 70-year-old held four major state offices and won a landslide election for governor in 1998; Siegelman’s victory is, to date, the last time the state voted for a Democrat for the state’s highest office.
As governor, Siegelman helped close portable classrooms and expanded the state’s Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI). An effort to establish a state lottery to fund education was defeated by voters in 1999.
Siegelman narrowly lost re-election to Bob Riley in 2002 following a dispute over ballots in Baldwin County. He ran again for governor in 2006, but was defeated in the Democratic primary after being indicted on corruption charges.
During the 1999 lottery campaign, then-HeathSouth CEO Richard Scrushy donated a total of $500,000 to the campaign. After the donation, Siegelman appointed Scrushy to the Certificate of Need (CON) board, overseeing hospital improvements and expansions.
Prosecutors said the transaction amounted to a bribe. Siegelman’s attorneys, noting Scrushy had served on the board for years, said it was something done in the normal course of politics. The governor argues he has done nothing wrong.
But both were convicted by a jury in 2006 on corruption charges. Siegelman was also convicted on a separate obstruction of justice charge over a $9,200 payment from a friend and supporter over a motorcycle.
Sentenced – and immediately taken to prison – in 2007, Siegelman won release the following year while his appeal went forward. An appeals court threw out some of his convictions the following year but upheld the others and ordered resentencing. Siegelman returned to prison in September, 2012.
The governor and his attorneys have suggested prosecutors targeted him for political reasons. Appeals courts have dismissed those arguments, as arguments from more than 100 former attorneys general that Siegelman’s sentence was miscalculated. Former New York Attorney General Bob Abrams, who organized many efforts on Siegelman's behalf, said in a statement Wednesday that the governor was "victimized and wronged and yet he demonstrated great strength and amazing valor throughout his ordeal."
"Those of us who fought for his vindication are happy for him and his family that this day has arrived," the statement said.
Supporters had hoped for a pardon from President Barack Obama, but the application was denied Jan. 19, without a reason given.
Scrushy won release from prison in 2010, and relocated to the Houston area.
Siegelman's last public appearance was in December 2014 at an appeals hearing in Montgomery. The governor appeared thinner than in the past, but otherwise unchanged from his last court appearance in 2012.