Alabama’s Ex-Governor Fined $211,000, Is Spared Prison Term
A judge spared former Gov. Guy Hunt from prison Friday, ordering him to pay $211,000 and to perform 1,000 hours of community service for his felony ethics conviction.
Hunt, who was forced out of office upon his conviction last month and could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison, also was ordered placed on five years of probation.
“You have already received some punishment,” Montgomery Circuit Judge Randall Thomas told Hunt, “and your reputation and good name have been damaged.” The judge said he was convinced that the “evidence warranted the verdict.”
Hunt, 59, was convicted of looting a 1987 inaugural fund and using the money for personal expenses.
Hunt, a Primitive Baptist preacher, smiled broadly as he shook hands with supporters outside court Friday.
“The judge certainly under the law could have imposed a stiffer sentence,” Hunt said. “We still feel like we do not know any particular law we violated.”
Hunt was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution, a $10,000 fine and $1,000 to a crime victims group. He has filed an appeal.
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