Former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard may start the new year as a free man. The ousted lawmaker is reportedly nearing the end of his prison sentence for his conviction on ethics charges. The Alabama Department of Corrections lists a January eighth minimum release date for Hubbard. The former Speaker was sentenced to twenty eight months in prison after a jury convicted him of violating state ethics law. He is incarcerated at Limestone Correctional facility. Prosecutors accused Hubbard of leveraging his powerful public office to obtain clients for his businesses, violating the prohibitions against using his office for personal gain and on giving a "thing of value" to an elected official.
Hubbard asked to be released from prison early last year, after serving twelve months of his full sentence for an ethics conviction. Hubbard apologized in a letter to a judge saying he hurt the state and his family. His attorney filed the request for early release on Friday and argued that the sentence of over two years is out of line with punishments given to other officials.
