POPULAR TALK SHOW HOST FOUND GUILTY OF DECEIVING STATE

A Wetumpka talk show host was convicted late Tuesday night of
attempting to deceive state officials to obtain welfare benefits.

Roberta Franklin, 50, was found guilty of lying about her criminal
record in applications for food stamps, according to a press release
from the Alabama Attorney General's Office.

A Montgomery jury deliberated for 50 minutes before reaching a verdict.

"Public assistance should only be available to those who are truly
needy, who abide by the law, and who legitimately qualify for them,"
Attorney General Troy King said in a statement.

The host of "The Morning Show with Roberta Franklin" is known for her
stance against crowded prisons in Alabama.

Robert Henderson, manager of 1250 WAPZ-AM in Wetumpka, said he hasn't
decided whether the show would continue.

"I can't form an opinion on the matter until I speak with her," he
said Wednesday afternoon.

He said the two-hour weekday show was about issues of public interest
in Alabama. The show's broadcast spanned 85 miles from Wetumpka, he said.

Franklin was convicted of 27 felony counts of possession of a
controlled substance in Montgomery in 2003, and five felony counts of
obtaining drugs by fraud in Autauga County in 2004, according to the
press release.

Franklin will be sentenced Jan. 19.