Former Jefferson County Commissioner Chris McNair transferred to federal prison medical facility

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama 

McNair

Chris McNair, the 85-year-old former Jefferson County Commissioner serving a 5-year sentence for his conviction on public corruption charges, has been transferred to a federal prison medical facility, according to the federal prison website.

McNair is at the Federal Medical Center at Rochester, Minn., according to the Bureau of Prisons. The facility, which provides specialized medical and mental health services to male offenders, is in southeastern Minnesota, two miles east of downtown Rochester, according to the website.

McNair reported to the federal prison camp in Marion, Ill., in June to begin serving his sentence after his appeals failed. He is scheduled to be released Oct. 13, 2015.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said today that the the bureau does not comment on why an inmate has been relocated. The website does not indicate when McNair was transferred.

McNair's attorney, Doug Jones, wrote in emails this afternoon that McNair was moved two or three weeks ago. He wrote that it is his understanding that officials at the prison in Illinois put in for the transfer shortly after McNair arrived based on his age and medical issues.

McNair was convicted of bribery and conspiracy to solicit bribes in April 2006 in connection with Jefferson County sewer construction. He also pleaded guilty in February 2007 to soliciting $140,000 of other sewer construction bribes.

The long-time politician's daughter Denise was one of four little girls killed in the  1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church by the Ku Klux Klan.