by Glynn Wilson

(LFJ) - The Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has ordered a new hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Mark E. Fuller on the issue of whether former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman should be released from prison pending the outcome of his appeal.

A three-judge panel remanded the case back to Fuller, arguing that it appears as if Siegelman’s lawyers never properly filed a motion for his release on appeal. The ruling also seems to take the judge to task for discussing the issue of Siegelman’s release on appeal and not fully explaining why the former governor was jailed immediately instead.

“The district court made comments in the course of denying Siegelman’s motion to surrender voluntarily to prison which may reasonably be interpreted as a finding that Siegelman was ineligible for release pending appeal,” the ruling indicates. “Regarding Siegelman’s motion for release pending appeal, the Government’s response to the motion, and Siegelman’s reply to the Government’s response are hereby REMANDED on a limited basis, for expeditions consideration and disposition by the district court. The district court’s order should explain the reasons for the court’s ruling.”

According to Redding Pitt, one of Siegelman’s attorneys, Fuller would not allow the defense to even make a motion on the issue of his remaining free on appeal. The judge ruled Siegelman was not eligible under federal rules.

“The court at sentencing would not let us make the motion, much less make an argument in support,” Mr. Pitt said. “That is what the appeals court is referring to in a portion of the opinion.”

What the ruling means in lay terms, according to Siegelman supporter Pam Miles, is that “Judge Fuller denied release pending appeal on the day of sentencing. In sending Siegelman directly to jail, it is implied that Fuller must have had a good reason for his actions even though they have not been stated.

“Siegelman should have appealed to Fuller in writing instead of directly to (the) 11th circuit. However, the (appeals panel) states that they understand why Siegelman didn’t do this,” she says. “It is certainly implied that they are referring to the act of shackling and taking him to prison that night.”

“Accordingly,” she says, “the (appeals panel) is asking Fuller to formally rule on the appeal bond motions with a full explanation of his ruling.”

One source who is familier with this case, and how legal appeals work in the South, says it is likely that the appeals panel has indicated to Fuller that he better release Siegelman (and Scrushy?) - or they will.

AP: Appellate Judges Ask Trial Court to Decide on Siegelman Release

View the full order here:

Download Circuit_Order1.PDF

by Paul Jordon

It’s Sunshine State vs. Heart of Dixie Week in the SEC.

The top two games on this week’s Southeastern Conference football schedule both feature an Alabama at Florida theme. No, it’s not exactly like it sounds. Bama isn’t playing the Gators. The Crimson Tide is tackling Florida State at a so-called neutral site, in Jacksonville, while Auburn’s Tigers will try to avoid becoming Gator bait, which is always a hard thing to do when playing in The Swamp at Gainesville. Both Alabama teams head south as underdogs - Bama by 2-points and Auburn by a whopping 18.
Read the rest of this entry »

I have to admit to being more schooled in science than in art, having been forced in the Jefferson County, Alabama, public school system to choose only one art. I chose the high school band and played the drums. So I never got to take an art class.

Even in college, as a print journalism major and a political science minor, I never had to take an art appreciation class.

Into my master’s and Ph.D. years in the 1990s, I spent most of my time studying science and communications research.

But as I crest middle age and once again take up the camera, I find myself more and more interested in art.

What is art? What makes it special or mundane?

I learned something of art from my close friend Spider Martin, an artist turned photographer. He idolized the artistic genius Pablo Picasso, not only for his art but for his personal life as a renowned womanizer.

I can only know what I read about his personal life, but looking at his art work it is clear he has impacted the development of modern and contemporary art with unparalleled magnitude.

His prolific output includes over 20,000 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, theater sets and costumes that convey a myriad of intellectual, political, social, and amorous messages, according to James Voorhies with the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Picasso’s creative styles transcend realism and abstraction, Cubism, Neoclassicism, Surrealism and Expressionism.

Photo by Glynn Wilson

Pablo Picasso’s depiction of the dying bull at the end of a Spanish bullfight

Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps Alabama Governor Bob Riley has a heart after all, or maybe he just knows serious political pressure when he sees it.

Within a half hour of our posting the editorial below and sending it via e-mail to the governor’s office, “Cowboy boots” Bob granted a 45-stay of execution for death row inmate Tommy Arthur.

His justification?

Riley said a change made this week in the state’s lethal injection procedures, announced on Wednesday, were designed to ensure that the inmate is unconscious when given drugs to stop his heart and lungs. Arthur was scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. today, but he would not have received the new lethal injection formula, Riley said.

AP: Alabama Governor Grants 45-Day Stay of Execution for Arthur

There was no word from the governor’s office on whether he will reconsider his decision not to push the state legislature for a post-conviction DNA testing law, which is the law in 42 of the 50 states.

We urge Governor Riley and the Alabama Legislature to immedietely change the law and allow DNA testing in any case where it is warranted to avoid any possibility of putting innocent convicts to death.