Judge reduces prison sentence for former Alabama speaker
Posted November 25, 2020 3:55 pm.
Last Updated November 25, 2020 4:08 pm.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A judge on Wednesday slashed former House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s prison sentence from four years to 28 months, significantly reducing the time the once-powerful Republican will spend behind bars for an ethics conviction.
Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker reduced Hubbard’s sentence at the request of defence attorneys after some of his conviction was overturned.
Hubbard was sentenced to four years in prison after his 2016 conviction on ethics charges. Prosecutors accused Hubbard of leveraging his powerful public office to obtain clients and investments for his businesses.
The defence asked a court to reduce Hubbard’s sentence since appellate courts earlier this year overturned six of the 12 counts in his conviction. The attorney general’s office opposed the request.
The Republican was one of the state’s most powerful politicians for years, until the ethics conviction in a corruption case ended his political career. Hubbard, the architect of the GOP’s takeover of the Alabama Legislature in 2010, was a legislator from Auburn and former chairman of the Alabama Republican Party. He was elected House speaker soon after Republicans won control of both legislative chambers.
Hubbard was automatically removed from office after his 2016 felony conviction.
Kim Chandler, The Associated Press
