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Tag(s): Criminal Justice; Investigations; Mississippi; Prison-Prisoners
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June 20, 2008 at 17:11:40

Progress for Political Prisoners in Paul Minor Case?

by Roger Shuler Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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Progress for Political Prisoners in Paul Minor Case?

The Don Siegelman prosecution in Alabama is the best known case of an individual becoming a political prisoner for the crime of governing while a Democrat.

The Paul Minor prosecution in Mississippi is not as well known, but it might be every bit as egregious as the Siegelman prosecution. And unlike Siegelman, its three defendants--attorney Paul Minor and former state judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield--remain in federal prison on convictions that are not remotely based in law.

Encouraging news, however, does come today. Appeals have been filed with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and there is special urgency for Paul Minor--his wife is dying of cancer.

What was Paul Minor's real crime? Being a major financial backer of Democratic candidates in a blood-red Deep South state. Minor was a major backer of John Edwards' presidential bid in 2004, and evidence suggests that made him a target of the Bush Justice Department. It has been reported that Bush supporters were convinced that Edwards, not John Kerry, would be Dubya's opponent in '04.

Teel and Whitfield evidently were "collateral damage" in the Bushies effort to cut off Paul Minor, a major source of Democratic support.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Minor case, remember these two names--Dunn Lampton and Henry Wingate. Lampton is the U.S. attorney who prosecuted the Minor case, and he currently is under investigation on several fronts. And Wingate is the judge, a Reagan appointee, who "presided" over the Minor case. Wingate's rulings in the Minor case were so blatantly corrupt that he should be the subject of impeachment hearings at some point.

www.legalschnauzer.blogspot.com

I live in Birmingham, Alabama, and work in higher education. I became interested in justice-related issues after experiencing gross judicial corruption in Alabama state courts. This corruption has a strong political component. The corrupt judges are all Republicans, and the attorney who filed a fraudulent lawsuit against me has strong family ties to the Alabama Republican Party, with indirect connections to national figures such as Karl Rove. In fact, a number of Republican operatives who have played a central role in the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (a Democrat) also have connections to my case. I am married, with no kids and two Siamese cats. I am the author of the blog Legal Schnauzer. The blog is written in honor of Murphy, our miniature schnauzer (1993-2004)who did so much to help my wife and me survive our nightmarish experience with corrupt judges. I grew up in Springfield, Missouri, and I am pretty much a lifelong St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan. I've lived in Birmingham for almost 30 years and have adopted the UAB Blazers as my Southern college football and basketball team to follow. Also, follow East Tennessee State basketball. An avid reader, both fiction and non-fiction. Influential writers on public affairs are Kevin Phillips, Michael Lind, Thomas Edsall, E.J. Dionne, Molly Ivins, and Scott Horton.