home

Martha Stewart Released Tonight

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 05:00:46 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

At 12:01 am ET Friday morning, or tonight for those of us in the CST, MST and PST time zones, Martha Stewart will get out of jail, having served 147 days.

A car will take her to the nearby Greenbrier Valley Airport, where she will be flown by private jet to return home to her 153-acre estate in Katonah, N.Y. There she will serve out five months of home detention as she assembles the ingredients for the next course in her remarkable career in the domestic arts.

Dozens of cameras will be on hand every step of the way, beginning with a photo opportunity at the West Virginia airport, where Stewart is not expected to make a statement.

MSNBC is doing a one-hour live special at midnight, ET, and I'll be providing some of the commentary.

And check out this graphic by the New York Times: The value of Martha's stock in her company has risen while's she been in jail. It's now worth $1 billion.

In related news, White Collar Crim Prof Blog asks what happens now if Martha wins her appeal?

Cookie Jill at Skippy e-mails asking whether Martha can sue over the cover of Newsweek that has this "illustrated" photo? USA Today reports:

Five months in the stir have done wonders for Martha Stewart. Look at her on the current Newsweek. The 63-year-old appears thin, rested and sparkling. It's almost too good to be true. Actually, it is too good to be true. Newsweek put Stewart's head on a model's body for a cover story that looks at how she will emerge from prison "thinner, wealthier and ready for prime time."

Assistant managing editor Lynn Staley says the photo won't mislead readers. "Anybody who knows the (Stewart) story and is familiar with Martha's current situation would know this particular picture" was a "photo illustration," she says.

I suspect Martha has more important things on her mind, but the issue of the media creating illusionary photos without an upfront acknowledgement of the fact is an interesting one.

Update: Martha has released this statement on her website:

The experience of the last five months in Alderson, West Virginia has been life altering and life affirming. Someday, I hope to have the chance to talk more about all that has happened, the extraordinary people I have met here and all that I have learned. I can tell you now that I feel very fortunate to have had a family that nurtured me, the advantage of an excellent education, and the opportunity to pursue the American dream. You can be sure that I will never forget the friends that I met here, all that they have done to help me over these five months, their children, and the stories they have told me.

Right now, as you can imagine, I am thrilled to be returning to my more familiar life. My heart is filled with joy at the prospect of the warm embraces of my family, friends and colleagues. Certainly, there is no place like home.

Martha

Welcome home, Martha. You're a trooper.

Update: The Bureau of Prisons has issued this statement on Martha's release.

< Rep. Gibbons' Speech is a Redo | Cable Discovers Blogs >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Martha Stewart Released Tonight | 25 comments (25 topical)
    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#1)
    by Che's Lounge on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 05:13:14 PM EST
    The most depressing part of that article was the last word on the post. more...

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 05:15:17 PM EST
    Glad to hear that you'll be commenting on a network not owned by Rupert Murdoch. Also, glad to hear that you'll miss the new Law and Order tonight... Now With Even More Conservativism!

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 05:16:23 PM EST
    Conservatism, rather...

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#4)
    by Kitt on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 05:31:52 PM EST
    Good....I'll watch - will be just coming home from work. And yeahaw! Another L&O drama! We'll see how this one stacks up.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 05:39:41 PM EST
    Amazing...absolutely amazing. Break the law, spend just over 3 months in a country club prison, and come out a billionaire. And this is sending a signal to other investors not to make the same mistake. Can I be next?

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 05:53:44 PM EST
    trueblue... I think it adds up to Karma... now I'm just waiting for Ken Lay's private island getaway (wherever it will be) to erupt.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 06:35:08 PM EST
    TL on MSNBC?? This I gotta see...

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 08:25:23 PM EST
    Good news, free her now.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 09:20:44 PM EST
    I'm curious to see how this will pan out. IMO, the value of her stock is probably based on speculation that she'll get out of prison and things will get back to normal. But what if the American public is sick of her and drops her like Michael Jackson's album sales? That stock will tank faster than analysts will be able to draw the graph.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 09:36:50 PM EST
    Ohmigod this is ridiculous. Do we really need choppers following the motorcade?

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 09:41:20 PM EST
    Agreed. The only thing more ridiculous is my staying up to watch it. But it was worth it to hear Jeralyn speak for 30 seconds without being screamed at. Good night now.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#12)
    by Kitt on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 09:48:09 PM EST
    Geez - could you all talk at the same time.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Mar 03, 2005 at 10:23:02 PM EST
    Bravo on the poppie-seed comment; a defense attorney indeed!

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 05:30:27 AM EST
    God, am I tired of you BOP virgins talking about "country club prisons". Ask anyone who's been there...the consensus will be that they're better than getting stabbed with a butter knife behind the wire, but a country club they ain't. Here's an idea. Every one of you rich Republicans has a deep desire to belong to a country club. Well, here's your chance. It's not tough to join this one, membership fees are minimal. Go with your deepest desire, show us your cajones, and join up for a stay at your local country club prison. I freakin' dare you, you bunch of platitude spouting, gutless, know-it-alls. And I say that with all due respect.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 07:10:02 AM EST
    Meanwhile, Ken Lay the financial terrorist walks around free. Martha did wrong, yes. But did she affect millions of lives and livelihoods? Did she purposefully cause the West's economy to plummet? Did she put mom and pop businesses out of business because they couldn't afford their electricity bills?

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 07:53:17 AM EST
    institutional investors are nor buying her stock --just small investors -- it's just silly. there is no reason for her stock to rise like this and people who buy it unless they are looking to short a stock are stupid. every single analyst has said the stock is over valued. Trump's tv show did not save his casino either

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 08:01:24 AM EST
    If you are going to pimp Stewart's stock try facts. Institutional investors are not buying her stock -it is mostly retail investors and the value is inflated and does not match the performance of the company. Trump's tv show did not save his Atlantic City Casino --it still went into bankruptcy. Sirius radio stock had a big jump when Stern went on board and now is back in the realm where it belongs. The value of a stock that is over inflated by media reports usually tanks. Stewart and her company have a long way to go before it's a decent buy she still needs to reslve all the civil cases against her

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 08:09:22 AM EST
    sorry for the double post it didn't seem to go through the first time

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 09:17:21 AM EST
    MSGOP and NBC coverage of Stewart is nothing more than a promo for her NBC reality show. A feature on dateline as well as the MSGOP crap --this is news..hardly

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#20)
    by Dadler on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 09:37:03 AM EST
    enough with martha. nothing agaist her, she's just such a supreme piece of nothing. her entire existence revolves around the surface sheen of things. alright, gardening is good, i'll give her that. sure all the enron fatcats and other should be behind bars. here's the real difference. they knew how to create plausible deniability. martha IS her company, this was her PERSONAL, and she was very sloppy in her attempt to hide her actions. doesn't hurt that she wasn't a buddy of bush, but corporate ceo's are good and trained at covering their assess. martha wasn't.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#22)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 05:28:50 PM EST
    what kills me are the media "pundits" like Cafferty on CNN this morning bemoaning all the media attention on Martha when it's CNN creating all the media blather with their 3 hours + coverage of a woman being released from prison. Too bad she isn't a man. In that case we'd be praising her courage and admiring her empire. She's a non-simpering woman so she can do nothing right.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 10:36:29 PM EST
    MS did what she needed to do to get the job done of building her empire. For that she is hated, demonized, scandalized,castigated, publicly berated and incarcerated. The boys on Wall Street wanted to take down the "uppity B*tch" so they sent in the SEC and the feds to do the job.They won't let a woman stand toe to toe with them, and I say that as a man.But if everyone on this board wants to know what lesson the MS incident teaches us, it is to never answer a cop's question without a lawyer.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Mar 04, 2005 at 11:24:26 PM EST
    Pleeeeeaaaaase! Make it stop! Will somebody please find something to put on the news besides helicopter shots of Martha's every move? If we all quit paying attention to her, maybe she'll go away.

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#26)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 07:21:16 AM EST
    Stewart was a former stock broker and was a member of the Board of the NY Stock Exchange at the time of the felony she is one of the boys And she is a close friend of Michael Milken --she is not Mildred Pierce

    Re: Martha Stewart Released Tonight (none / 0) (#27)
    by Dadler on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 10:17:31 AM EST
    paul, martha stewart is a white woman who grew up in an era when you could buy a house for basically what your yearly income is. she's no more an american success story than any genuinely poor person who rose from nothing (literal nothing) to simply be a production, law-abiding member of society. no offense, but martha's childhood was NOTHING compared to tens of millions of others. she is the poster-child for manufactured style. i have nothing a against her, i just don't think she represents anything more than consumerism gone ballistic.

    Martha Stewart Released Tonight | 25 comments (25 topical)