John Archibald says Former Birmingham Water Works Board President’s Sentence a Slap on the Wrist
Alabama Media Group Columnist John Archibald
Sherry Lewis, the former chair of the Birmingham Water Works Board, will not go to prison despite being convicted of two felony ethics charges. A judge sentenced Lewis on Thursday to three years probation, a $30,000 fine and 400 hours of community service. Prosecutors say she used her position to obtain jobs for her son, as well as accepted extravagant meals, travel and football tickets from business executives who had a contract with the board. Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald spoke about the case with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager.
Interview Highlights:
Why he sees the sentence as a slap on the wrist:
“For all intents and purposes, if she minds her Ps and Qs, she’s out. Some people could kind of see the writing on the wall in the first place because when she was initially convicted, the judge said go straight to jail … From the time of her conviction she’s been in jail, which is 22 days. I think that’s what passes for tough on corruption in this day and age.”
How attitudes have changed toward public corruption:
“Certainly in Montgomery and with a lot of politicians there’s a groundswell of concern that the ethics law is too harsh. Frankly, when people start seeing their friends go down, when they start looking at their own behavior and saying that could make me go down, then they’ve started to say this needs to be changed … Just remember that everybody who gets a Birmingham Water Works bill is still paying the price for the [Jefferson County] sewer corruption and will be for 40 years. These things are very tangible to those rate payers, and that’s why it matters.”
What he fears will happen given Alabama’s history of corruption:
“What I think comes next is that the Alabama Supreme Court could either overturn the sentence of [former House Speaker Mike] Hubbard, declare parts of the law unconstitutional and I think they’re trying to find a way to let him go.”
Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he targeted U.S. political parties, memo says
The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of Jan. 6, 2021 told investigators someone needed to "speak up" for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen, prosecutors said Sunday.
Chinese military stages drills around Taiwan to warn ‘external forces’
The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales, and a statement by Japan's prime minister saying its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan.
Trump and Netanyahu to meet in Florida at a crucial moment for the Gaza ceasefire
President Trump could use the face-to-face at his Mar-a-Lago estate to look for ways to speed up the peace process, as Israel's leader has been accused of not pushing his side to move fast enough.
‘Bomb cyclone’ forecasted to bring heavy snow, blizzard conditions and dangerous travel
A 'bomb cyclone' is intensifying severe winter weather for millions of people across the U.S. The system is expected to knock out power and disrupt holiday travel.
Russia sends 3 Iranian satellites into orbit, report says
The report said that a Russian rocket sent the satellites on Sunday from a launchpad in eastern Russia.
Viral global TikToks: A twist on soccer, Tanzania’s Charlie Chaplin, hope in Gaza
TikToks are everywhere (well, except countries like Australia and India, where they've been banned.) We talk to the creators of some of the year's most popular reels from the Global South.
