GUILTY: Martha Stewart was convicted today on all charges in her securities fraud trial, and it actually appears all those “Martha Stewart Living in Jail” jokes are about to come true.
I didn’t follow the trial that closely so I couldn’t tell you whether or not the verdict is correct, but what I can say is that I really despised that line of reasoning that said “how can we indict Martha for her little crime when the Enron people are still free???” First of all, it’s apples and oranges- Martha’s case was a minor deal over a stock trade; Enron was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, and of course a prosecution will take years to put together. And does the non-punishment of Enron’s crimes mean that no one should ever be indicted for any lesser crime ever again? By that rationale, OJ’s acquittal should have led to a moratorium on assault convictions.
Second of all, they’re not still free- Fastow rolled on Skilling and went to jail, Skilling may roll on Lay, and that’s the ballgame. Not to mention, the week of Martha’s guilty verdict the trial of the Rigas family (Adelphia) began, while Bernie Ebbers (Worldcom) turned himself in on a multi-count indictment. So those calling for all the major corporate heads to roll before Martha’s did, in fact, get their wish.
Also, with Martha down and Jayson Williams teetering, that whole “celebrities are above the law” theory seems on shaky ground as well, which is certainly bad news for both Jacko and Kobe.
I can't wait for Christopher Byron’s column tomorrow...