No Pardon for Former Gov. Siegelman

Over his eight years in office, President Obama commuted the sentences of nearly 1400 federal prisoners, the most in history, and issued over 200 pardons.

But one of those pardons did not come for former Democratic Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. The Department of Justice informed Siegelman’s attorneys yesterday that his application for clemency had been denied.

The 70-year-old former governor is currently serving a 6 ½ year sentence at a federal prison in Louisiana for bribery and obstruction of justice. Siegelman’s supporters had long hoped President Obama would free him before leaving office.

The former governor was convicted of selling an appointment to a state health board in exchange for donations to an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to establish a state lottery. The conviction was upheld on appeal. Siegelman has maintained his innocence.

Read more: http://apr.org/post/no-pardon-former-gov-siegelman