It Should Not Happen in America: From Selma to Wall Street—'A Journey of Fire and Faith'

By Richard M. Scrushy

A defendant in two of the most infamous Southern trials of the twenty-first century, Richard M. Scrushy has twice found himself in the crosshairs of the U.S. Department of Justice. In both cases, he proclaims his innocence. Now, in It Should Not Happen in America, Scrushy speaks out for the first time and sets the record straight.

The year is 2004. Scrushy is one of the South’s wealthiest men and his company, HealthSouth, is among America’s most profitable healthcare corporations. That is, until the carelessness and corruption of others drag him into federal prison. It Should Not Happen in America details in Scrushy’s own words the events surrounding his legal battles at the turn of the century. The engaging memoir contains never-before-shared insights into the inner life of one of modern Alabama’s most vilified public figures. For the first time, Scrushy bears witness to the faith and character that guided the former HealthSouth CEO from a prison cell to achieving Wall Street success all over again. This story isn’t as seen on TV, and the events featured in It Should Not Happen in America are described credibly and engagingly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: NewSouth Books
• Release date: Jun 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781588384447

Richard M. Scrushy

Richard M. Scrushy was born in 1952 in Selma, Alabama, to working-class parents, himself going to work at a local hamburger-and-milkshake stand and as a hotel bellboy at the young age of twelve. After years of hard work as a young man, Scrushy built healthcare giant HealthSouth in Birmingham. This is but one example of his business prowess, as he has founded three billion-dollar companies. In 2004, twenty years after founding HealthSouth, Scrushy was tried for and acquitted of thirty-six counts of fraud. But the former HealthSouth CEO was indicted and ultimately convicted, under questionable circumstances, for bribery alongside then-governor Don Siegelman. Now released and rebuilding his life, Scrushy tells his personal story in It Should Not Happen in America.