President Declines Pardon For Former Alabama Governor

THE WHITE HOUSE (AP) The White House list of pardons and commutations didn’t include imprisoned former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, disappointing supporters who contend his bribery conviction and 6 ½-year sentence are the result of a Republican conspiracy.

Siegelman was not among the four Alabama offenders who received commuted sentences. The White House released the list Friday.

Joseph Siegelman, Siegelman’s son and attorney, said a commutation request filed in 2012 was rejected because of Siegelman’s pending appeals. But President Barack Obama could grant clemency for the fellow Democrat at any time.

A jury convicted the 69-year-old Siegelman of bribery and obstruction in 2006 after prosecutors claimed he sold a seat on a state health board to former HealthSouth Corp. CEO Richard Scrushy in exchange for campaign contributions to Siegelman’s effort to establish a state lottery in 1999.