Net Roots Nation, Pittsburgh, 2009 (I think).

I met Don Siegelman in 1978 when I was a prison reform activist in Montgomery, Alabama and he was a rising young star in the state Democratic Party. I was very impressed with his earnestness and his intelligence. He was unusually receptive to my thoughts on prison reform and I ended up volunteering on his first campaign for statewide office, Secretary of State. I’ve always thought the world of him.

I’ve written about his case before.

I'm from Alabama and I know Don Siegelman. I know this man. I know what his vision was for Alabama, from the time he was in high school. I was in it up to my neck with him in Montgomery in the late 70s. I was a prison reformer/anti-death penalty advocate, he was a candidate for Secretary of State, his first statewide elected office. Most people wouldn't listen to me about prison reform, but Don did. I did volunteer work on his campaign, I hung out with him and his friends. They were people like us. People who wanted to make things better.

The Siegelman case and why it should trouble you

More recently, Karen Hedwig Backman, posted this:

The following is my take on Siegelman:

Siegelman has almost finished his sentence and, rightly, should be compensated for being unjustly imprisoned. Those years can never be restored. However, the very least that President Obama can do is to pardon Siegelman and enable him to restore his bar certification and other professional credentials stripped from him by a rigged system of justice in the unholy State of Alabama. — KHB

PARDON DON SIEGELMAN

I was lucky enough to cross paths with Don a few times before they dragged him off to prison — again. IIRC, he’d already been in Federal prison in Louisiana and was out on an appeal bond when this picture was taken.

I think this was Austin, 2008, but like Vonnegut’s Billy Pilgrim, I’ve come unstuck in time, so who knows?

Just recently Don was put in solitary confinement for donating a t-shirt to a documentary project about him and his case.

Now this from a recent email from FREE DON:

"Never seen this happen before."

This weekend, without an explanation, former Alabama governor Don Siegelman was told that the charges against him for donating a t-shirt to support the documentary Atticus v The Architect - The Political Assassination of Don Siegelman were dropped and his record expunged, according to family sources.

Don said he was not given a reason for the warden dropping the charges, and said that it even puzzled some of the prison officials, with one commenting, "I've never seen this happen before."

Don also said, “I want to thank Congresswoman Sewell for taking her recent leadership role in my pardon efforts," stating that he didn’t know if the two events were related but, "I'm sure grateful for both.”

Miscarriage of Justice

Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell released a statement in response to this latest situation: “After almost ten years, the unjust conviction of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman continues to be a miscarriage of justice and a blemish on the integrity of our national justice system. Enough is enough.

“Our ultimate goal remains the early release and subsequent pardon of Mr. Siegelman so he can return to his family and once again contribute to the State of Alabama."

Please take a few minutes and call the White House and ask the President to release and pardon Don.

Here’s how.

Call or write the White House.

Heartfelt thanks to anyone who even considers this request.

More information on Don and The Political Prosecution of Don Siegelman

Don Siegelman should be freed.

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