To understand why this otherwise loyal Republican would come out against her fellow party members in such an explosive way, you have to understand the mind of a true believer.

When no one on the Siegelman legal team called Ms. Simpson back, she felt ethically off the hook, but not for long. She had tried and they had failed. But it continued to weigh on her conscience.

Back when the Riley campaign had asked her to do the "dirty, untrue" research, Ms. Simpson had contacted the Alabama Bar Association to get an opinion on her legal and ethical responsibilities. She was advised that she had no legal or ethical duty as a lawyer regarding these political shenanigans.

She was told she could contact Joe Espy, who represented Barron, but also knew Don Siegelman. Espy asked her to write down what happened, but she didn't. She told Espy what she knew, hoping that would be the end of her role in the case.

Later on, Espy asked her why the Riley campaign would ask her to do some of the things they had asked her to do. Then she told him about the photos and the conspiracy to get Siegelman to concede in 2002. So Espy told her to call the bar association again, and she was told she could contact Scrushy and had a "moral duty to do the right thing."

So she called and then later wrote several letters to Art Leach, who was representing Scrushy.

Meanwhile, she had already told her story to her friend Mark Bollinger, who was on Alabama Attorney General Jimmy Evan's task force in the successful prosecution of Guy Hunt in 1993. Bollinger also knew Siegelman, so he eventually told Siegelman Ms. Simpson's story. Siegelman called and asked Ms. Simpson to write up an affidavit, but still she refused.

Then as sentencing was approaching and justice didn't seem to be happening in Montgomery, Ms. Simpson finally came up with the idea to drive across state lines to Georgia and sign the affidavit in a lawyer's office in Dade County. She then met Mark Bollinger there and gave him a copy of the now famous affidavit. Why go to Georgia? Because she was afraid federal prosecutors or even Alabama's conservative Attorney General Troy King might drag her into court and tie her up with expensive paperwork for years for something like mail or wire fraud - for making accusations against a federal judge in an Alabama court filing sent through the mail, or even e-mail.

But so far, the judge has ignored the facts in a brief filed with the 11th circuit court based on her research and refused to step aside. Her name is not on the brief. And she insists she took no fee for her work and time.

Ms. Simpson insists she had no desire for publicity and the only thing she's getting out of whole thing is "a bunch of misery." To back it up, she almost canceled talking to me two days before the interview. She would not allow any photos to be taken of her for this story. And she's refused at least one offer to appear on a national network television show to talk about her affidavit.

But as the sentencing date approaches in less than a week, she thinks that without telling someone in the press the whole story - and getting it all out in a timely manner so people will understand it - justice may not prevail.

In addition, she is not happy with the way assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin has falsely attacked her in the local press. She believes the false allegations are a possible violation of federal guidelines governing what prosecutors can say to the press during the phase of a case between conviction and sentencing. And, one lawyer can't say that about another lawyer without potentially facing legal consequences.

So she agreed to tell her story to me. After eight hours of talking with Ms. Simpson, she said something that should let you know where she stands - and it has nothing to do with partisan politics or money.

"I still believe that justice will always prevail in the end," Ms. Simpson said. "Whether it prevails in time for Mr. Siegelman and Mr. Scrushy to avoid going to jail, we will see. But in the end, justice will always prevail. I really believe that."