A federal appeals court in Atlanta hears on Jan. 13 the latest appeal of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, one of the nation’s leading political prisoners. His imprisonment for 1999 actions not considered a crime by other political figures has been compounded by more than a month of harsh confinement over the holidays preventing family visits and communications with his lawyers in advance of his hearing, aside from one phone call.

I, Friends of Siegelman and interested followers of his story are looking forward to the hearing in Atlanta this Tuesday, January 13, because, despite everything that has happened, we continue to believe - sometimes unrealistically - that America has the best justice system in the world. If it gets derailed somehow, as we believe that it has been in this case, well then, citizens like us can raise our voices and we will be heard! We will exhaust all venues, fully expecting that justice will be restored in the case of Don Siegelman. And we have a duty to refuse to let this ruling stand because it provides a playbook and a precedent in political persecution that cannot stand.

MONTGOMERY | A federal judge on Thursday refused to free former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman from prison while he continues to appeal his 2006 bribery conviction.