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Lay Conviction Vacated

By TChris, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Tue Oct 17, 2006 at 08:43:57 PM EST
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In death, Ken Lay has escaped both conviction and incarceration.  Lay died before his sentence commenced, and today, a federal judge vacated his conviction.  Since Lay died before his case could be reviewed on appeal, the law gives Lay a posthumous pass.

In a technical sense, the UPI may be correct to say that the action "lifts a cloud from Lay's name."  In the real world, those who saw Lay as a symbol of corporate avarice will not forget that a unanimous jury found the evidence of his guilt convincing beyond a reasonable doubt.

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    • Lay Conviction Vacated | 3 comments (3 topical)
    Re: Lay Conviction Vacated (none / 0) (#1)
    by ding7777 on Tue Oct 17, 2006 at 09:28:33 PM EST
    TChris - Could you comment on this post from July 2006?

    Is an abatement different than a vacate? I'm  just curious if the verdict was vacated because Lay died before he was sentenced as opposed to dying before all the appeals were concluded?

    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jul 05, 2006 at 12:39:07 PM EST

    TL readers who are not criminal defense lawyers may be interested to learn that when a defendant in a federal criminal case dies prior to sentencing, the entire prosecution process "abates" -- all the way back to the beginning. The indictment will be dismissed; Lay will be deemed to have died without a conviction and without a criminal record. In the couple of instances over my 30 year career where the defendant died between verdict and sentencing, this rule has been of some comfort to the defendant's family. (I should mention that the abatement will also make it more difficult for victims to sue (his estate, now, of course), since they will not be able to rely on the convictions for collateral estoppel, that is, as conclusively determining his culpable involvement in the frauds at Enron.)


    Re: Lay Conviction Vacated (none / 0) (#2)
    by smiley on Wed Oct 18, 2006 at 11:06:02 AM EST
    This just feels like the wrong answer.  

    Notwithstanding any conspiracy theories about how Ken is living it up on a private island with Biggie and Tupac and Elvis, I still firmly believe that we should treat this criminal conviction the way you would treat a civil conviction, and execute the punishment against Kenny Boy's estate.  Let his wife serve the time for him.  

    Oh, and the court should still seize all of his (estate's) assets, and use them to make a shrine commemorating his callusness and criminal indifference to the common good.  Preferaby somewhere in California, because we're going to sell Texas back to Mexico so if we build the shrine there not as many people will see it. And then salt the earth for a mile around, so that the earth may bear the scar forever and we'll be able to identify it easily from space.  And while we're at it, let's take his corpse and impale it on a post out in front of the shrine, for the vultures to tear at.  It will make great public theater.

    You know, standard steps people take to prevent forgiving and forgetting.  

    If he were alive, these might be cruel and unusual punishments- but he's dead, so I'm sure he won't complain.

    Re: Lay Conviction Vacated (none / 0) (#3)
    by smiley on Wed Oct 18, 2006 at 11:07:19 AM EST
    Of course I mean a civil judgment.  My torts prof would have fits.

    Lay Conviction Vacated | 3 comments (3 topical)