[JURIST] Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (D) [official profile; JURIST news archive] was sentenced to over seven years in prison for bribery and obstruction of justice Thursday. Siegelman and former HealthSouth [corporate website] CEO Richard Scrushy [JURIST news archive] were convicted [DOJ press release] in June 2006 on federal bribery and fraud charges [JURIST report]. Siegelman was convicted on 10 counts, including bribery, conspiracy, and mail fraud. Scrushy was found guilty of fraud and both were also convicted in connection with a $500,000 payment from Scrushy for Siegelman's 1999 campaign debts in exchange for a seat on a state-operated review board that regulates hospitals. Scrushy was also sentenced Thursday to six years and 10 months in prison. AP has more.

In 2005, Scrushy was acquitted [JURIST report] on charges of wire and mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act [PDF text] in a scheme to overstate earnings and inflate HealthSouth's stock price between 1996 and 2002.