On February 16, a number of LA Kossacks spent the afternoon with Dana Siegelman, who gave us an update of what's going on with her father Don's case. If you don't remember, Don Siegelman was the most successful Democratic politician in Alabama, and Karl Rove, with the assistance of Siegelman's opponent in 2002 and the US Attorneys in Alabama, managed to get Siegelman convicted of bribery and sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released from jail by the 11th Circuit Court in March 2008 while they considered his appeal. After reducing his sentence to 69 months and dropping two of the seven charges against him, the 11th Circuit sent him back to jail to complete his sentence in March 2009.
This is without a doubt a political prosecution. Dana has a website up with a petition to free her father. She's hoping that the talented bloggers here at Daily Kos can keep awareness of her father's story up by referring to Don in other stories of watchdogs and whistleblowers being wrongfully convicted by vengeful prosecutors. Hence this group, which Shockwave and I promised her we'd create. Promise fulfilled, Dana.
If you want to take part in this effort to free Don Siegelman, ask in the comments! We also hope that this will be a repository for other cases that indicate how justice can and has gone wrong in these United States.