Bobby DeLaughter and attorney Cynthia Speetgens
A judge clearly gone bad, Bobby DeLaughter, will plead guilty to lying to a, FBI agent that was investigating judicial corruption in Mississippi.
There is nothing funny about DeLaughter's conduct, as he tried to corruptly obtain a federal judgeship, by conspiring with a defendant in a multi-billion dollar tobacco civil case, in exchange for assistance in obtaining career advancement in the judiciary, via the brother-in-law of former U.S. Senator, Tren Lott.
What's even more disappointing is, Delaughter was a prosecutor, who is the basis for a character in the movie "Ghosts of Mississippi" regarding the trial that brought white supremacists to justice, for the heinous murder of innocent civil rights figure, Medgar Evers.
Miss. judge to plead guilty to lying to FBI agent
JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi judge known for successfully prosecuting a white supremacist decades after a civil rights-era killing will plead guilty to lying to an FBI agent investigating judicial corruption, the judge's attorney said Tuesday.
Thomas Durkin said Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter will enter the plea in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen. Trial was set for Aug. 17 in Oxford, with DeLaughter facing charges of conspiracy, obstruction and three counts of mail fraud.
DeLaughter has had a storied career, beginning in the 1990s when he was a prosecutor who helped put white supremacist Byron de la Beckwith behind bars for the 30-year-old murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. He was portrayed by Alec Baldwin in the 1996 movie "Ghosts of Mississippi," which was based on Beckwith's prosecution. DeLaughter also wrote a book about the trial.
Prosecutors have said DeLaughter's ambition to become a federal judge ultimately led him to break the law. He was accused of giving an unfair advantage to Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, a chief architect of the multibillion-dollar tobacco settlements of the 1990s, in a dispute over millions of dollars in fees from asbestos lawsuits.
Authorities have said Scruggs, who is now in prison, and others promised DeLaughter they could help him be considered for an open seat on the federal bench with help from Scruggs' brother-in-law, then-U.S. Sen. Trent Lott. Lott is not accused of wrongdoing...
