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Our Opinions Former Gov. Don Siegelman arrived home to Birmingham Friday night, looking gaunt and tired and still dressed in what appeared to be prison garb. He has served nine months of a seven-year sentence in a Louisiana federal penitentiary. A federal jury in Montgomery convicted him of awarding health care mogul Richard Scrushy a state health board position in exchange for a $500,000 contribution to Siegelman's unsuccessful lottery fund. The lottery didn't win and Siegelman didn't get the money. But both Siegelman and Scrusby got time for the swap. Some say Siegelman should not have gotten jail time since he didn't benefit personally. Others say he should since he traded on the powers of his office. Of course, if that be the case, a lot of elected officials could be sent off to a state or federal pen somewhere. Siegelman and Scrushy were whisked away as soon as the sentences were pronounced and many thought that was odd and showed political vindictiveness. In similar cases, folks often are allowed to remain free while their cases are on appeal. The federal appeals court reviewing the Siegelman case say the former governor's lawyers raised "substantial questions of the law or facts likely to result in a reversal or an order for a new trial." That was an interesting assessment, to say the least. The appeal process could take a year or longer. In the meantime a Democratic-controlled House committee has called Siegelman to Washington, D.C. to testify in a probe as to whether or not the former Democratic governor was unjustly prosecuted and persecuted by Republican appointed prosecutors as a recent "60 Minutes" piece and others have suggested.
We aren't sure where all of this is going but we know Don Siegelman is glad to be home, at least for the time being.
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