Events Calendar
In This Section
Deputy shoots, kills teen boy in Compton
Police: Accused cat killer could be a sociopath
Franken in Washington, says he's ready to work
Man pleads not guilty to killing Iowa coach
Vermont man pleads not guilty to charge he killed son while hunting
Massachusettes mom pleads not guilty to denying son meds
Senate to post staff salaries, expenses on Web
South Carolina governor back to work after weekend with family
Most Read Stories
Blogs:
Pets:
Sunburn in canines and felines
The Heldenfiles:
Monday Notebook, New "90210" on DVD
Patrick McManamon:
Another NBA free agent goes to a Cavs competitor
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Northern Illinois
Browns Bulletin:
Single-game ticket sales begin July 11
Tribe Matters:
Marte is IL’s Batter of the Week
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Free Agency Update: Frye in View?
All Da King's Men:
The Obligatory Palin Post
Blog of Mass Destruction:
The "Limbaugh Babies"
Akron Law Café:
The Veil and the Burqa – Constitutional to Ban or Restrict?
Varsity Letters:
Solon’s Baldwin could decide soon
See Jane Style:
Picnic Wear
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
ID My Bug
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jennifer inquires about a bus tour to Atlantic City
Sound Check:
Rundgren fans rejoice!: Second night of AWATS at The Civic added
HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work
Akron Gamer:
Hot link: Best of Nintendo at E3
Published on Tuesday, Jan 06, 2009
Associated Press
ATLANTA: Griffin B. Bell, the shrewd Southern lawyer who grew up with Jimmy Carter and later became U.S. attorney general after Carter was elected president, died Monday. He was 90.
Bell died about 10 a.m. of kidney failure, said Diana Lewis, a spokeswoman for Piedmont Hospital. He was being treated at the Atlanta hospital for complications due to pancreatic cancer and kidney disease, which he had fought for years, she said.
Carter said he was ''deeply saddened'' by Bell's death and called him a ''trusted and enduring public figure.''
''As a World War II veteran, federal appeals court judge, civil rights advocate, and U.S. attorney general in my administration, Griffin made many lasting contributions to his native Georgia and country,'' Carter said in a statement. ''Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.''
Carter's choice of his longtime friend as attorney general was considered the most controversial of his Cabinet appointments after the 1976 election.
The NAACP and other civil rights groups complained that Bell, as a federal judge, didn't force Southern schools to integrate quickly enough. They also cited Bell's tenure as chief of staff for Georgia Gov. Ernest Vandiver, who campaigned in 1958 on a segregation platform.
Carter called Bell's civil rights record superb, and many black Georgians, including U.N. ambassador designate Andrew Young, came forward to support him.
''Frankly, I prefer a Southerner who has been struggling with the problem of civil rights actively for several years over a Northern intellectual liberal,'' Young said at the time.
Bell served just 21/2 years at the Justice Department, leaving in mid-1979 — at his own request — to return to his Atlanta law firm, King & Spalding. He called his tenure as attorney general ''the best job I ever had,'' and he remained close to the action in government by maintaining a law office in Washington. He also remained a key adviser to Carter.
As attorney general, Bell promoted judicial reform and supported the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which limits government spying on U.S. citizens. He also investigated Koreagate, the alleged buying of congressional influence by Korean agents, and set in motion the investigation that led to a bank fraud indictment against fellow Georgian Bert Lance, Carter's budget chief. Lance later was acquitted.
Associated Press
ATLANTA: Griffin B. Bell, the shrewd Southern lawyer who grew up with Jimmy Carter and later became U.S. attorney general after Carter was elected president, died Monday. He was 90.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
