Fuller Increases Siegelman’s Possible Prison Time For Talking to the Media
June 28th, 2007MONTGOMERY, Ala., June 28 - U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller added five to seven years to the possible prison sentence of Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman today - for talking to the media.
Instead of a possible 10 year sentence, Siegelman is looking at the possibility of 15 to 19 years behind bars, simply for exercising his First Amendment right to free speech, attorneys said.
The judge is using a system of federal guidelines established for sentencing defendants in federal cases based on a quantitative grid system. It’s a 1-43 point system based on court precedents for average sentences given for different kinds of crimes. Defendants can have time taken off for good works, if they are not considered a flight risk, if they show remorse and other things. Points and prison time can be added if they would be considered a risk to go out and commit other crimes or flee, for example.
U.S. government prosecutors argued that Siegelman had engaged in a “propaganda campaign” to “heap disrespect on this court” by talking to the media while awaiting sentencing, which is ironic considering the propaganda devised by Bush political strategist Karl Rove in his long history of manipulating judicial races in Alabama.
Attorney Susan James appealed to the judge to show fairness in the case, and brought up Jill Simpson’s affidavit alleging a conspiracy at the highest levels of the federal government to get Siegelman (reported on extensively below). She said the defense team had not intended to bring it up until the appeal, but the aggressive nature of the Bush Justice Department’s prosecution of Siegelman and the proposal to add more time to his sentence compelled them to bring up the issue to get it on the record.
Sentencing is expected tonight. There’s no free wireless Internet access in the federal courthouse in Montgomery, so for now, you can read the AP story or follow the case on other blogs and the one below.
