MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Former Gov. Don Siegelman's daughter, 22-year-old Dana Siegelman, is raising her profile a bit in a bid to help her dad. She had shied away from public comment about her father's conviction and prison time.
But she recently sent a letter to more than 1,000 people asking them to join her in urging members of the House Judiciary Committee to continue their work.
The House panel is probing whether politics played a role in the prosecution of her father, now in federal prison in Louisiana,
serving a more than seven-year term in a government corruption case.
In her letter, Dana Siegelman wrote: "Please join me in encouraging this committee to fight for the truth, to seek justice with all its power, and to rekindle the hope that we ought to have in our government."
Siegelman said her dad's prosecution and imprisonment has had a profound effect on her family and on her personally.
In the letter, Siegelman said her father's living conditions in prison are bad, but he remains positive.
She said her dad works as janitor in prison from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day and has no privacy. She said no food is served past
4 p.m., and he eats low quality meat and rarely gets fresh fruits or vegetables.
Because of drafts, she said, he is cold and sleeps in sweats.
The reason for the letter, she says, is to let the people of Alabama know "that the man who provided so much good for them is being treated so badly."
Dana Siegelman graduated in May from California State University in Long Beach, where she majored in interpersonal and
organizational communication studies. Next month, she plans to move back to California and look for a job.
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