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Hubbard may be released next month

Former Alabama Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard is expected to be released from prison in less than a month, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections. Hubbard can be released as early as Jan. 8.

In 2016, Hubbard was convicted and sentenced to 48 months in prison for felony ethics violations. Among the charges were, Hubbard, as Speaker, had solicited consulting contracts and sought loans from businesses throughout the state.

The former state Republican Party chairman, jailed since September 2020, has been critical of the Alabama judicial system. In a letter written in September 2021 to his friend Bill Canary,  Hubbard accused the Alabama Supreme Court of attempting to destroy his business. He said,” … their lack of guts will cause me to lose the business I built over 30 years in addition to everything I’ve lost.”

However, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Hubbard has not shown any regret for his actions.

“Even as he sits in state prison as a six-time felon, Mike Hubbard continues to deny any guilt or offer any remorse for his actions in violation of the law,” said Marshall.

Some of Hubbard’s prison communications, though, appear to validate Marshall.

In one excerpt from his phone calls he is quoted as saying that he “held my nose and signed” a letter expressing regret for his actions, and lamented that he had done nothing wrong.

According to state prosecutors at his ethics trial, Hubbard told a friend, “I hope the folks (the Alabama Department of Corrections) know that I didn’t do anything wrong and this is just a political hit job.”

Other Republicans didn’t hold Marshall’s views. Justice Tommy Bryan of the Alabama Supreme Court wrote in an opinion he was not “entirely convinced” the 48-month sentence was the “most appropriate form of punishment,” signaling that he didn’t support the maximum sentence of four years.

Hubbard received a reduced sentence in November 2020.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.  

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