Thursday, March 27, 2014

Legal Schnauzer Publisher Roger Shuler Is Released After More Than Five Months in Alabama Jail

Roger Shuler's mug shot from the Shelby County Jail
Roger Shuler, a veteran journalist and publisher of the Legal Schnauzer blog, was released yesterday afternoon from the Shelby County Jail, where he had spent more than five months from the fallout of a defamation lawsuit.

Shuler was released about 4:15 p.m. at the jail in Columbiana, Alabama, where he had been the only incarcerated journalist in the Western Hemisphere.

The arrest and incarceration has drawn national and international news coverage. Among the media outlets providing coverage are The New York Times, Al Jazeera, Huffington Post, Salon, Think Progress, WhoWhatWhy, FireDogLake, and more. Journalist/Attorney Andrew Kreig has provided ongoing in-depth coverage at his Washington-D.C.-based Justice-Integrity Project. Radio host Peter B. Collins has provided regular updates from his base in San Francisco.

Alan Colmes, of Fox News Radio, conducted a jailhouse interview with Shuler just last week, via telephone.

"I am grateful to have my freedom restored," Shuler says. "I also am grateful for the support of many readers, friends, and justice-focused citizens. This has been a traumatic experience for me and my wife, Carol, who has done a wonderful job of keeping our audience updated in my absence. Jail, of course, is not meant to be a pleasant experience, and I can provide first-hand testimony that it definitely is an unpleasant place to be, more so than probably many of us can imagine. It takes a tremendous physical, mental, and emotional toll."

We will have more details in upcoming posts.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now the REAL fight for justice can begin. Best to you and Mrs S.

DM
Phenix City

Redeye said...

Thank God! My prayers were heard and finally answered. May God have mercy on you and yours.

Melissa Brewer said...

Many warm wishes 1000x over for Roger & Carol. This is great news but I have a feeling the fight is far from over. Just know you have a HUGE community of support on the internet! You are not alone!

Anonymous said...

Great to see you home Roger.

Anonymous said...

OUR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!!!!!

Bill Schmalfeldt said...

God bless you, Roger! So happy to see you're back among free men, so to speak. Looking forward to hearing details of the release. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know.

ttowntruthseeker said...

It's about fucking time!

Anonymous said...

Good for Roger-now maybe after some rest and rehab he can get back on the horse !

Steve said...

I am so glad Roger has been released. It is horrible to have had all that time stolen from you. I hope this means that Carols virtual house arrest is also at an end. Big big hugs all round :-)

Wayne said...

Thanks goodness. This is something that should not have happened at all. Roger and Carol move on with your lives. Thank God he has answered our prayers.

legalschnauzer said...

Thanks so much for the many kind comments. It's great to interact with all of you again. My brain still is in a somewhat scrambled state, but I hope to have my legs back under me soon. Please know that Carol and I are deeply grateful for your thoughts and prayers. Being in jail/prison is an unbelievably difficult experience, and my thoughts today are with friends I made who remain incarcerated.

2catchthieves said...

Glad to know you are finally home,hold your beautiful wife, rest and build your strength up. LS and the battles you expose will forever be remembered. The Schnauzer is making history!

Anonymous said...

Thank God you are free....It is terrible that the "Riley machine" has the power they do. I know justice will be served ....may God bless you and yours....keep up the fight brother !!!

Anonymous said...

Wonder what Ol' Ted Rollins has been up to since you have been on "Sabbatical" !!!??

Anonymous said...

Speechless!! All I can say is God Bless you all!!!

Ken Bonerigo said...

Now sue the stuffing out of them!

Glad to hear you are home safe.

Unknown said...

Thank you G-d for prayers answered!

So thankful you are safe!

What were the "grounds" for release?

Apparently, Strange & Riley didn't want anymore negative publicity about their illegal actions.

Kathryn Bauman Rubenstein

legalschnauzer said...

Thank you, Kathryn. The grounds were that we had to remove certain posts from Legal Schnauzer, plus my YouTube and Twitter accounts. That's per an Oct. 21 court order, which came two days before my arrest and which I never had a chance to read until I was in jail and could not respond. We will be considering all of our options going forward, but the only way to get out of jail at this point was to follow that Oct. 21 order.

Anonymous said...

perhaps you'll now be more careful about writing sleazy things that you can not substantiate.

Anonymous said...

spent 593 days in that cesspool and the only thing that got me out was filing a federal lawsuit and educating others to do the same
keep exposing the corrupt crooks in criminal injustice

Matt Osborne said...

Great news! So glad you're home again.

Lots of people worked to bring attention to this injustice, and now that you're free we should all turn our attention to the shabby condition of Alabama's courts. This is no place to find justice, especially if your accuser is connected and powerful and willing to lie his ass off.

Anonymous said...

Alabama is a swamp. AK

Anonymous said...

Glad you are out. Pathetic how morons
on sick & obscene propaganda media stations (everyone knows the ones I am referring to) in this country can spew lies and hate on a daily basis and their freedom of speech is protected... Best wishes to you my friend. Take care of yourself and heal.
Love from
Helen in Minnesota

Anonymous said...

Hello Mr. Shuler and Carol,

Congratulations on what I believe is your long overdue freedom.

I cannot imagine what you have been through and I hope and pray that you can be rehabilitated and reconstruct your life I believe that you and Carol have come out stronger after what you all have experienced.

Please file within D.C. or in the International Court (if that is possible).

Alabama justice has and will always terrify me.

"True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else"--Clarence Darrow

"In addition, as citizens, we must fight in their incipient stages all movements by government or party or pressure groups that seek to limit the legitimate liberties of our fellow citizens."--Wendell Willkie

God Bless you all and Take Care.

Anonymous said...

You have established yourself, as well earned the right to be heard, seen representative of Alabama's "little people".

As soon as circumstances will allow you, let us now, more than ever before come together for this common cause; and too for all those having left some of
themselves on jailhouse and
courtroom floors.

YOU ARE TO BE RESPECTED AND ADMIRED FOR YOUR DEDICATION IN ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A STAND PUBLICLY EXPOSING DENIALS and/or VIOLATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL'S EQUAL RIGHTS.

Thank you Roger, Carol, and also Murph; you're knowing while striving to survive in a confined environment, served not only yourself, but all Alabamians
exposed to unlawful/illegal government acts. Now really expose the SOB's for what they really are......

Anonymous said...

Let it be known to all Arkansas Republicans: stories like this are why your party is almost universally despised outside red states.

Republicans are bad people. Throwing a journalist in jail because he was exposing your corruption is irrefutable proof that you are undeserving, indeed quite dangerous, whenever put in charge of government.

Good Americans will fight you until the bitter end. Southern Republicans will never behave this way outside your region. It simply will not ever be tolerated by the other half of society.

Marcus J. Echols said...

I'm so glad he has his freedom and I hope the true criminals who did this to him. Journalist must be free to report/expose people acting above the law.

Anonymous said...

Reply to anon at 3:46
The judge in Roger's case is a lifelong Democrat.

Anonymous said...

Happy First Sunday back home!! I hope and know the Lord will be close to you this beautiful day.

Michelle Looney said...

Mr. and Mrs. Shuler,

Sometimes our only resource–– and sometimes last resort–– in attempting to tackle corruption or to right terrible wrongs is our guarantee of free speech promised with the First Amendment.

Few Americans have the vast financial assets and/or political connections required to win civil law cases. Many Americans are afraid to speak out when they realize there is corruption within their communities, and this is one of the many reasons why.

Sadly our court systems seem to have been styled to adequately serve a sector of society with a political or financial advantage involving ridiculous amounts of money for producing satisfactory results. Not only are the courts often being used as utilities for generation of wealth, they are also often used to punish or destroy enemies.

My best wishes are that you can continue your mission to unravel and expose corruption for the good people of Alabama, and that for all you have suffered no person in Alabama's bright future can be punished or jailed for a crime called "telling the truth".

You have stood for the First Amendment, for the good people of your state, for what you have believed as truth, and for a free press and free society. You fought the good fight and stood your ground for what you believed was right.

I salute you for your courage and admire your strength and stamina. Having been a state and local (freelance) cartoonist, I understand many of the issues, and the responsibility and stress involved with being factual and fair in researching and exposing matters so close to your own back yard.

Best wishes to you both.
-Michelle Looney

Anonymous said...

Michelle Looney expressed so eloquently what I wanted to say.
........and that for all you have suffered no person in Alabama's bright future can be punished or jailed for a crime called "telling the truth". Unfortunately - no state in the US upholds 'rule of law'. It's not just Alabama. I wish the general public would wake and heed your story and support you.

Welcome home.

Anonymous said...

Big Rog. Unbelievable. Great to hear you are out. You are in our thoughts and prayers.