It’s been a struggle, but Alabama has won the title of most corrupt and most bigoted state in the nation at the same time. Three of its top officials have been charged with criminal offenses, and one of them has been convicted; two more to go.

Republican Alabama Robert Bentley has been charged of sexual misconduct, and using state funds to hide his illicit actions. His wife left him in 2015. Chief Justice Ray Moore is under indictment for violations of judicial ethics for ordering probate judges to ignore the Supreme Court ruling which guarantees the right of same-sex marriage. House Speaker Mike Hubbard has been prosecuted for 23 felony ethics charges, which according to acting Attorney General W. Van Davis were “all about greed.” Friday he was convicted of 12 felonies. Davis said after the conviction that it was ‘hard to believe he escaped the 11 charges for which he had been charged.

This is the party of “family and morals,” as long as they apply to someone else.

These ‘good, Christian men,’ are perfect examples of the hypocrisy of those on the right wing who align themselves with the Christian religious right. Money is their true god, not Jesus Christ. Being judgmental is not ‘god-like,’ and Moore has continued to place his homophobia before the law.

Hopefully all three will be convicted and set an example for those in other states who believe their own ambitions allow them to willfully break the law.

This is additional proof that our judicial system needs a complete reformation. They will likely receive a lesser sentence than a poor black man would receive for possession of marijuana in Alabama. The rich and powerful continue to receive “special treatment” from the justice system.

Law enforcement must be trained more effectively and practice equal protection and equal treatment under the law. Recent cases of a Texas teenager, a Stanford Swimmer, and former Virginia Governor O’Donnell are just three cases when the privileged fail to experience justice.

Alabama is not a desirable place to live if you are black, Hispanic, homosexual, a woman, or a Muslim. It is not only a state with an extremely corrupt government, it has won the title of the most racist state in the union.

Stay tuned for the next two trials, and watch closely to see what sentence Hubbard receives. Hopefully justice will once again don her blindfold and offer fair judgment and punishment.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

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Photo Courtesy of Jay Inslee

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