WI State Employee released from Federal prison- dirtiest Republican campaign attack of 2006

State of Wisconsin employee Georgia Thompson used to work as a department of purchasing employee under the administration of Democratic Governor James Doyle. The Republicans couldn't run against his good record, so they accused her of steering a state travel contract to a firm whose officials were major campaign contributors to Governor Doyle- and although it was never proven, she ended up spending four months in a Federal Prison. The decision was reversed yesterday.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=128161&ntpid=1

Georgia Thompson acquitted, set free

In a stunning reversal, a federal court of appeals struck down a state worker's fraud conviction that Wisconsin Republicans used in efforts to paint Gov. Jim Doyle's administration as corrupt.

Attorneys on both sides of the case said the three-judge panel likely overruled the trial jury's conviction of former state purchasing officer Georgia Thompson within hours of oral arguments due to a simple lack of evidence.

The decision by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, which will explain the judges' reasoning, was not immediately available.

Edit: "I have to say it strikes me that your evidence is beyond thin," federal Appeals Judge Diane Wood told prosecutors. "I'm not sure what your actual theory in this case is."

than the dust up the media keeps saying it is.

Almost every third article one reads these days has to do with how the GOP has corrupted the justice system.

Doyle said Thompson was entitled to return to her $77,300-a-year job, along with back pay and state assistance covering her legal expenses.

for any state after they know about this? Its like working for a huge political target, only they hit you and your house and your life savings instead of his. There was no guarantee things would turn out this way, this is very good fortune.

If I were her, I would take the compensation but look for another job.

And if I were any other employee in that department or any other department that handles contracts, I'd be job hunting before the next election. The governor can't protect you and the justice system is just barely creaking by.

This was a very weak case and she should NEVER have spent a day in prison.

I'd go back long enough to get the back pay, my legal fees paid and to save enough to quit.

I'd also use the time on the job to stick it to the Repugs big time by investigating purchasing contracts signed while the last Repug governor was in office. I'd uncover all of their dirty laundry and release it to the press.

A year like this one would break most people. She was a quiet professional doing her job, and in the clips I saw of her she seemed bewildered. She may have been in the position for a long time and never imagined anything like this could happen. But I'd imagine people in her department would be pretty concerned that it could happen to them also. I sure wouldn't want to be in a job that could land me in prison because somebody was trying to make an elected official look bad. No job is worth it.

Corrupt to the core. It is time for justice.

Good God, having someone arrested as part of a political maneuver is beyond corrupt and into the realm of insane.

I get the feeling it's going to take years for us Americans to trust the government again, even after Bush and his cronies are gone from the public stage.

And let me tell you, this attack on our Democratic Governor affected every single race in the state.

And while this was going on, of course the Republicans had also arranged for the lovely "Marriage amendment" to our state Constitution to come up for a vote in Wisconsin, thereby insuring that all of the homophobes who would normally stay home during a midterm election would come out and vote. We lost the attorney general's seat by a few hundred votes. The advertising was nasty, the tactics were nasty... the people themselves are vicious.