Former AG Jimmy Evans, best known for Gov. Guy Hunt case, dies
Former Alabama Attorney General Jimmy Evans, who successfully prosecuted the state’s governor in an ethics case in the 1990s, died Monday. He was 81. His death was confirmed by Brian T. Gallion, the operator of Southern Memorial Funeral Home which is handling the funeral arrangements for the family. Gallion said he was not authorized to give a cause of death. Services will be held Monday. Evans was Alabama’s attorney general from 1991 to 1995. He is best known for the 1993 prosecution and conviction of then-Gov. Guy Hunt on charges of stealing $ 200,000 from an inaugural fund. Evans also pushed for passage of legislation to give crime victims a greater voice in the criminal justice system and was a mentor to many young attorneys, said friends and former colleagues. “He was one of the fairest people I have ever known,” former Montgomery County District attorney Ellen Brooks recalled. Brooks, who worked with Evans for many years, said he “could be tough as nails when the situation required,” such as prosecuting a horrific murder case. But he could also be gracious and kind in dealing with victims or giving a second chance to a first-time nonviolent offender, she recalled. “People would come into the courtroom to listen and watch him. He was that good,” Brooks said of Evans’s closing arguments. He previously served as the district attorney of Montgomery. “He was a victims’ rights champion through and through and through,” said Miriam Shehane, who founded the advocacy Victims of Crime and Leniency, after the murder of her daughter, 21-year-old Birmingham college coed Quenette Shehane. Evans is the person who suggested they organize, she said. Shehane and Brooks said Evans helped push for changes in the law, including: allowing victims to remain in the courtroom during trials; giving both defense and prosecution the same number of juror strikes, and requiring victim notification of plea deals. “He had a remarkable impact on many lawyers’ careers including mine,” said attorney Steve Feaga, who led the Hunt prosecution for Evans. Evans’s name would become forever linked with the Hunt prosecution that led to the ouster of the state’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction. Hunt was automatically removed from office after being convicted of the felony. Hunt and others had complained that Evans, a Democrat, brought the case against him for political reasons — an allegation Evans denied. “That bothered Jimmy because it wasn’t politically motivated,” Feaga said, adding that Evans knew the case would likely mean the end of his career in public office. Evans was defeated by Republican Jeff Sessions in the 1994 race for attorney general. Sessions went on to become U.S. senator and U.S. attorney general. Hunt later secured a pardon and made an unsuccessful bid to return to politics. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Special grand jury finds no new charges warranted in Robert Bentley investigation
Supernumerary District Attorney Ellen Brooks announced Wednesday the investigation of former Governor Robert Bentley and others has concluded. Brooks released the final report of a Special Grand Jury, empaneled in Montgomery County on July 11, 2016, that determined no additional charges against Bentley are warranted. Montgomery County Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick accepted the report and dissolved the grand jury accordingly. “Many of the allegations we investigated were not supported by the facts,” the report reads. “With respect to the other allegations, the facts did not constitute a crime.” But the grand jury did point out several issues with Alabama’s current ethics laws. “We found a number of serious concerns about current state law that hinder successful prosecution,” the report read: The ethics law does not cover non-spousal intimate or romantic relationships. The law authorizes the governor to appoint the Secretary of Law Enforcement and does not prohibit the governor from initiating, directing, or receiving reports on criminal investigations for illegitimate political purposes. State law does not prohibit non-government personnel from performing the work of a public employee while being paid by a private entity, a so-called “loaned executive” arrangement. The report urged lawmakers to look into updating the laws as soon as possible. “While this list is not exhaustive, the issues are sufficiently serious as to warrant the Alabama Legislature to revisit the Alabama Ethics Law and the Alabama Fair Campaign Practices Act as soon as possible.” Nearly one year ago, on April 10, 2017, Bentley resigned following allegations he used state resources to cover up an affair he was having with one of his former aides. State Auditor Jim Zeigler filed an ethics complaint against Bentley, to investigate whether any state resources were unlawfully used in the alleged relationship. Ultimately the investigation led the Alabama Ethics Commission to find probable cause Bentley violated ethics laws and campaign finance laws. Upon his resignation Bentley was booked on two misdemeanor charges —one for failing to file a major contribution report and another for knowingly using campaign contributions for personal use. He plead guilty to both charges, each carried a $300 bond, and was sentenced to 12 months of unsupervised probation.
