After Serving Prison Time, This Former Alabama Governor Makes A Case For Reform
In 2012, former Alabama governor Don Siegelman went to jail for five years. He says his prosecution was driven by a politicized justice system. And he’s now making the case for why American democracy could be at stake without criminal justice reform.
Guests
Don Siegelman, former governor of Alabama. Author of “Stealing Our Democracy.” (@DonSiegelman)
Jack Beatty, On Point News Analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR)
From The Reading List
Excerpted from “Stealing Our Democracy: How the Political Assassination of a Governor Threatens Our Nation” by Don Siegelman © 2020. Published by NewSouth Books. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher, NewSouth Books. All rights reserved.
Alabama.com: “Former Gov. Don Siegelman: How to fix the court system that got me” — “Don Siegelman was a white Democratic governor of Alabama with power, money, friends and influence.”
New Yorker: “Why Obama Should Pardon Don Siegelman (2015)” — “Since the midterm elections, President Barack Obama has been acting as if he feels liberated from parochial political concerns. After taking action on immigration, Cuba, and climate change, he should take on another risky, if less well-known, challenge by commuting the prison sentence of Don Siegelman, the former governor of Alabama.”
Washington Post: “As McDonnell awaits Supreme Court, another governor watches from prison (2016)” — “Along with the state officials and law professors who are happy that the Supreme Court this week is reviewing the corruption conviction of former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell, add inmate No. 24775-001 at the federal prison in Oakdale, La.”
Alabama Political Reporter: “Don Siegelman’s book released” — “Former Alabama Democratic Governor Don Siegelman’s new book, ‘Stealing our Democracy,’ is now in stores.”
Alabama Public Radio: “‘Stealing Our Democracy’ By: Don Siegelman” — “As his second trial was coming to an end, Governor Siegelman wanted to testify on his own behalf. His lawyers, certain the state had not made its case and the governor would be acquitted, persuaded him not to.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
