Hubbard takes to Twitter to defend his name
Former Newport-Mesa Unified Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard took to Twitter this week in his quest to clear his reputation.
After being convicted of two felony counts of misappropriation of public funds related to his post as Beverly Hills schools chief, Hubbard confirmed Wednesday that he was using social media to expose what he termed a wrongful prosecution and conviction, and to call attention to others suffering similar circumstances.
“In coming weeks I will be exposing the lies and hypocrisy of the BHUSD, a greedy ex-superintendent, outright lies by the LA DA — bye for now,” he tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
On his Twitter profile, @DrJeffHubbard, Hubbard describes himself as a “wrongfully convicted and incarcerated former school superintendent. Dedicated to the truth about my legal issues & those at the mercy of an unjust legal system.”
In his first tweet, which has a Tuesday evening time stamp, he wrote: “I was wrongly convicted in January 2012 of a crime I did not commit. I was sentenced in Feb 2012 to 60 days in jail & fined. I am innocent.”
He also said he would use the account to discuss his faith and recovery from alcoholism. He quit drinking about 10 years ago, he said on Twitter.
“If you are a recovering alcoholic and you lie — then you will drink again and to drink means to die — I absolutely do not lie,” Hubbard tweeted.
Some of his tweets are categorized with hashtags for trending topics, including miracles, truth and injustice.
Hubbard used his account to take issue with the fact that he was prosecuted for redirecting money to a subordinate without permission. A jury found him guilty of misappropriating $23,500 in public funds without school board permission.
“Spending 3 million dollars on an alleged $23,500 crime is PURELY POLITICAL — not only that — I was DIRECTED to initiate those payments,” Hubbard tweeted, later writing: “Ere you judge — GET THE FACTS ABOUT MY LEGAL CASE! Supts. can’t write checks or force payments — they can only INITIATE a process #justice.”
He is also using his account to re-tweet postings by others. Some re-tweets are from the Innocence Project, and include stories about alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
“Sometimes I get very sad when I ponder what happened to me — then I think of @TroyDavis #rememberTroy,” he wrote, referring to the execution of a man some believe was wrongfully executed for the slaying of a Savannah, Ga., police officer.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Hubbard confirmed the authenticity of the tweets and said he planned to also use his account as an advocacy platform for the families of those incarcerated.
Hubbard served four days of a 60-day jail sentence. He was released early Monday morning.
While in a Los Angeles County jail, Hubbard said he met families who were deeply impacted by having a jailed family member, adding that he has “real compassion” for them.
Hubbard tweeted that he was placed in isolation because he was a “high profile case.” He described the conditions as terrible.
“I arrived on Thursday with food in my cell — I was ‘thrown’ food 3 times a day — leftovers went rancid — maggots and flies in my cell,” he wrote in a tweet.
In another entry, he said, “I was forced to undress in front of female guards who commented on many naked male inmates bodies — some cruel comments toward large men.”
The account was also created as a means for him to speak the truth about his trial, Hubbard said in a phone interview.
“If I lose the appeal it’s not the end of the world, because I’ve already lost my career,” he said.
According to his Twitter account, Hubbard is writing a book with his niece about his battle with the legal system and his time as schools chief for the Beverly Hills Unified School District.
Twitter: @lawilliams30