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( Memphis 03/03/2010) - He's a political legend in Tennessee, who dropped out of the public eye after his conviction on federal bribery charges but former state senator John Ford is now breaking his silence.
This is his first interview since the convictions. He's being held in isolation now at the medium security federal prison in Memphis. He sat down face to face with us for an interview. We learned quickly John Ford is still a proud man.
I didn't know what to expect before my interview. I wondered what was he going to say? What did he look like? Immediately I saw he's a changed man, if in no other way, at least physically. That's part of the reason John Ford agreed to our interview
FCI Memphis is where John Ford calls home, at least temporarily.
It's where I went for my one on one interview with him. On orders of the warden, there were no cameras allowed only me with my pen and paper. We met in the building where inmates visit with their attorneys. It's a glass enclosed room. It was just the two of us. Ford's black hair is gone. It's now a brownish color. His mustache is salt and pepper.
The man that once dressed like he owned the world was wearing a green prison jumper with navy blue slip-on tennis shoes and white socks. In a corner lay the most telling of his new accessories, a brown wooden cane he now uses to walk with daily. I asked him if he had any regrets.
"I regret being in this place," said Ford.
Ford is in Memphis to testify as a witness in a trial against a Memphis psychologist who reportedly offered Ford a bribe. Ford refuses to talk about that. He also won't talk about his own case. Only that he's hopeful about the appeals process.
"I'm not angry at anybody or anything. When people do things I don't let that bother my conscience," Ford told me.
What he does talk freely about is his health and the way he says he's treated in prison now that he's been transferred to Memphis.
He said, "They put me in the S.H.U. (special housing unit) or so called hole. They cut me off from everything. No newspaper. TV. No nothing. I'm locked in 24 hours a day. This is a form of cruel and inhumane status."
Ford added, "I have one book, the Bible. I read it."
Ford says the prison told him he's being held in isolation for his own protection. He feels he should have been left in Yazoo City, MS with prisoners convicted of low level crimes like his instead he's housed in a facility with robbers and rapists. He's in isolation until he testifies in mid-March.
Ford said, "It's another form of the U.S. prosecutors to persecute me and deny me any privileges what so ever."
Ford is suffering from health problems. He's using a cane and he tells me he was recently in a wheelchair. Ford says he has gout, a painful form of arthritis, and it's hard to walk.
- John Ford speaks from federal prison
- Ford says he's model prisoner but living in isolation
- Ford is on cane and uses wheelchair
( Memphis 03/03/2010) - He's a political legend in Tennessee, who dropped out of the public eye after his conviction on federal bribery charges but former state senator John Ford is now breaking his silence.
This is his first interview since the convictions. He's being held in isolation now at the medium security federal prison in Memphis. He sat down face to face with us for an interview. We learned quickly John Ford is still a proud man.
I didn't know what to expect before my interview. I wondered what was he going to say? What did he look like? Immediately I saw he's a changed man, if in no other way, at least physically. That's part of the reason John Ford agreed to our interview
FCI Memphis is where John Ford calls home, at least temporarily.
It's where I went for my one on one interview with him. On orders of the warden, there were no cameras allowed only me with my pen and paper. We met in the building where inmates visit with their attorneys. It's a glass enclosed room. It was just the two of us. Ford's black hair is gone. It's now a brownish color. His mustache is salt and pepper.
The man that once dressed like he owned the world was wearing a green prison jumper with navy blue slip-on tennis shoes and white socks. In a corner lay the most telling of his new accessories, a brown wooden cane he now uses to walk with daily. I asked him if he had any regrets.
"I regret being in this place," said Ford.
Ford is in Memphis to testify as a witness in a trial against a Memphis psychologist who reportedly offered Ford a bribe. Ford refuses to talk about that. He also won't talk about his own case. Only that he's hopeful about the appeals process.
"I'm not angry at anybody or anything. When people do things I don't let that bother my conscience," Ford told me.
What he does talk freely about is his health and the way he says he's treated in prison now that he's been transferred to Memphis.
He said, "They put me in the S.H.U. (special housing unit) or so called hole. They cut me off from everything. No newspaper. TV. No nothing. I'm locked in 24 hours a day. This is a form of cruel and inhumane status."
Ford added, "I have one book, the Bible. I read it."
Ford says the prison told him he's being held in isolation for his own protection. He feels he should have been left in Yazoo City, MS with prisoners convicted of low level crimes like his instead he's housed in a facility with robbers and rapists. He's in isolation until he testifies in mid-March.
Ford said, "It's another form of the U.S. prosecutors to persecute me and deny me any privileges what so ever."
Ford is suffering from health problems. He's using a cane and he tells me he was recently in a wheelchair. Ford says he has gout, a painful form of arthritis, and it's hard to walk.
