I have a dream...

In the closing arguments of the most recent Richard Scrushy corruption trial, Scrushy attorney Fred Gray recounted the words of his former client, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

With his voice rising to a crescendo, Gray gave the final words from the defendants in this now seven-weeks-long public corruption trial. He implored federal jurors to "fulfill Dr. King's dream and fulfill that old song!"

"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty we're Free at last!" Gray sang out.

Now, I have no idea if Richard Scrushy is guilty or innocent. I haven't been in the court room, I haven't seen the evidence, I haven't heard the arguments. But please forgive me if I don't find Mr. Scrushy's plight to be grossly insignificant compared to the struggles that Dr. King faced, as well as some of the struggles that those that Dr. King fought for still face today.

Mr. Scrushy is charged with setting up a half million dollars of donations in return for a place for HealthSouth on a state hospital planning board. He is fighting for the liberty of one person: Richard Scrushy.

Dr. King, on the other hand, fought for the liberty of millions. Millions that had been discriminated against in the past, millions that were being discriminated against in the present, and millions more that would be discriminated against in the future if this country, and this state, refused to change.

If Mr. Scrushy did what the prosecutors say he did, I hope he goes to jail. If he did not, I hope he walks free from the courtroom. Yet at no point, no matter what the verdict, will I mistake Richard Scrushy for Martin Luther King, Jr.

And that has nothing to do with the color of their skin, but rather with the content of their character.