Birmingham Mayor Freed From Prison

Mayor Richard Arrington agreed Friday to give his personal appointment records to a federal judge and was freed from prison after spending a day behind bars.

“It’s not been great fun,” Arrington said.

The records were given to U.S. District Judge Edwin L. Nelson, who held Arrington in contempt a week ago, said the mayor’s attorney, Donald Watkins.

“I have learned that he has purged himself of contempt,” U.S. Atty. Frank Donaldson said.

Arrington, 57, had refused to turn over the records to a federal grand jury investigating possible corruption at City Hall. He claimed Donaldson’s office had singled him out because he is black, and wanted the records to fabricate a case against him. Donaldson has repeatedly denied it.

Arrington “now is in complete compliance with the court order,” Donaldson said, adding it was “unfortunate that it wasn’t done earlier so that these high visibility events would never have occurred.”

On Thursday, Arrington, symbolically chained to supporters, walked three blocks from a church to the federal courthouse to surrender. He was taken to a minimum-security camp at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, 90 miles to the south.

Nelson sentenced Arrington to 18 months in jail, to be served from Thursday nights to Monday mornings, or until Arrington obeyed the subpoena. He also fined Arrington $1,000 a day, for up to seven days.

Arrington had said he would provide the records, but that he wanted first to go to prison in protest.