Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Disgusting Ken Lay News

I don’t know about you, but I for one am disgusted at the news that, since he died, the US Federal Court system will likely vacate Ken Lay’s criminal convictions which means it’s as if he were never even charged.

Apparently there is precedent in the legal system for such lunacy, but does that make it RIGHT? NO!

Was he CONVICTED? YES!

So, explain to me why the record wouldn’t SAY he was convicted in such-and-such a court after due process of law on whatever counts the jury found (all of ‘em), and he died before sentencing and pursuit of possible appeals.

Isn’t that what happened? YES!
Isn’t that the truth of the matter? YES!

So, why doesn’t the story stop right there? Just because he didn’t do the time doesn’t mean he didn’t do the crime – it’s been PROVEN he did the crime, right?

Vacating the convictions and erasing his record creates a lie. Is that what the US Federal Court system is charged with doing, spending millions of taxpayers’ money to find out the TRUTH in a criminal proceeding then creating a LIE by erasing it because the perpetrator/defendant dies? NO!

Does his death change the truth? NO!
Does his death change the crimes? NO!
Does his death change the trial(s)? NO!
Does his death change his guilt? NO!

Does it matter? YES! Do we want a legal system that does what is RIGHT, or a sham, one that creates LIES? Do we want a legal system that builds on precedent where the precedent was established to foster LIES, or one that corrects the errors of prior rulings to develop a precedent or RIGHT?

Does it matter? YES! Vacating the convictions removes the ability of the government to continue to pursue seizure of the spoils of Lay’s crimes, at least $43 million that will allow the heirs to his estate to live the life of Riley, while thousands of employees and investors whose livelihoods and retirement funds he ripped off will suffer, some scratching by at poverty levels for the rest of their days. The satisfaction in knowing they are alive and he is not is pretty faint satisfaction, don’t you think?

And don’t EVEN get me going on how the press is waxing eloquent about how “good” a man he was, such a “good Father”, “community leader”, “philanthropist”... I’m going to hurl…

Now that I’ve written all that I’m even MORE disgusted than when I started.

This about sums it up: “Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?”

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