[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 7044]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               PAUL DAVIS

 Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Mr. Paul 
Davis, who was recently awarded with the 2005 Alabama Press Association 
Lifetime Achievement Award. Paul Davis has been in the newspaper 
business for more than 35 years, and his career has been filled with 
courageous accomplishments.
  The Alabama Press Association Lifetime Achievement Award honors 
outstanding service in journalism for individuals who have spent a 
large percentage of their newspaper career in Alabama. Paul has been 
recognized for standards of excellence in journalism, courage and 
controversy on tough issues, and a voice for those less fortunate.
  Paul has spent most of his professional career in Alabama. From 1969 
to 1973, he was a reporter, columnist and then associate editor at the 
Tuscaloosa News, my hometown newspaper. Following his time at the 
Tuscaloosa News, he moved on to serve as editor of the Selma Times 
Journal and then as vice president and general manager of the Natchez 
Democrat in Mississippi. From 1983 to 1998, Paul served as editor, 
publisher and president of the Auburn Bulletin, the Spirit Magazine, 
and the Tuskegee News. Today, he serves as the president and publisher 
of Davis Publications of Auburn.
  I believe that Paul is well-known for his work as a young reporter at 
the Tuscaloosa News. Through his investigative reporting, he exposed 
the abuse of retarded youth and adults at Partlow School and the 
horrific treatment of patients at the state mental institution, Bryce 
Hospital. He uncovered the unthinkable details about patients living in 
wards with no air-conditioning during hot Alabama summers with only one 
psychiatrist to care for some 5,000 patients. He reported that 
attendants would dispense pills every hour to keep patients sedated day 
after day. Even worse, we learned that patients helped construct 
caskets in the basement and buried their fellow patients in fields 
behind the hospital, using only numbers to identify the graves. His 
work on this issue earned him a nomination by his publisher, Buford 
Boone, for the Pulitzer Prize.
  Paul also played an important role in the Federal case regarding the 
treatment of mental patients. In this important case, U.S. District 
Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. ruled that mental patients have a 
constitutional right to treatment. Following Judge Johnson's ruling, 
Paul was asked to serve as chairman of the Human Rights Committee at 
Bryce Hospital. Indeed, his investigative work in this area helped 
reform Alabama's mental health hospitals.
  Long before his reporting exposed the horrific conditions of the 
mental hospital in Tuscaloosa, Paul spent many days during his youth at 
Partlow School, visiting and playing games with the residents. Later in 
life, as president of the Civitan Club in Tuscaloosa, he helped open 
the first rehabilitation center at Partlow.
  Paul Davis has also been an outspoken critic of the leadership at 
Auburn University. A devoted Tiger fan himself, he has written numerous 
articles about the school's board of trustees. Supporters and opponents 
alike agree that, while you may not like what he has to say, he is in-
depth and thorough in his reporting. He was recently honored with the 
Academic Freedom Award from the Auburn University chapter of the 
American Association of University Professors for his articles on 
governance issues at Auburn.
  In addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Academic 
Freedom Award, Paul has received numerous professional and civic awards 
and has twice been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Paul is a member 
of the American Political Science Association; Society of Professional 
Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi; and the National Mental Health 
Association. He also served as past presidents of both the Alabama 
Press Association and the Alabama Press Association Journalism 
Foundation.
  His company, Davis Publications, publishes the Tuskegee News weekly, 
and he is a columnist for the Auburn-Opelika News. Paul and his wife 
Gayle have five sons, one daughter, and thirteen grandchildren.
  I have tremendous respect for Paul Davis and his devotion to 
uncovering the truth. He is most deserving of the Alabama Press 
Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and I am pleased to 
congratulate him on this important achievement.

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