Redding Pitt
Charles Redding Pitt (born March 29, 1944 in Decatur, Morgan County; died February 7, 2016) was an attorney and former chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.
Pitt was the son of Decatur pediatrician Kermit Pitt. He earned his bachelor of arts at the University of Alabama in 1967 and participated in Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign. He then entered the U.S. Army and served in the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1972, earning a Bronze Star and attaining the rank of Captain. He was then assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff for Intelligence in Washington D.C. until his discharge.
Pitt earned his juris doctorate at Boston College Law School in 1977 and returned to Alabama as an assistant Attorney General of Alabama from 1981 to 1991. After some time as a legal adviser on various officials' staffs he was appointed United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama by President Bill Clinton, serving from 1994 to 2001.
After retiring from that office, Pitt practiced privately with the Birmingham firm of Farris, Riley & Pitt. He was part of the legal team that unsuccessfully defended former Governor Don Siegelman on federal bribery, mail fraud and obstruction charges. He has also worked on Democratic campaigns, including the presidential campaign of his former roommate John Kerry in 2004. He served on the Democratic National Committee and was elected to chair the Alabama Democratic Party from 2001 to 2005.
Pitt was survived by his second wife, the former Jane LeCroy Brannan of Montgomery. He had one son, William, by his first wife, also named Jane.
References
- "Redding Pitt, former head of Alabama Democratic Party, has died." (February 8, 2016) Associated Press
- "Redding Pitt, Decatur native and state Democratic Party official, dies." (February 8, 2016) Decatur Daily
- "Redding Pitt" (February 9, 2016) Wikipedia - accessed February 9, 2016