Safe at last! We finally got that monster. Phew!

I am EXTREMELY pissed off about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wonder how much time Ken Lay will get

OB
OB, yeah, yeah, yeah, and besides all that she broke the law. But mostly she lied to the government and tried to cover up her law breaking.

While I think it is sad to see what is happening to her and her company and its employees, I think that her statement "They will never get me; I'm too rich" demonstrates why she deserves her punishment.

People have to understand they are not above the law even if they are a member of the upper crust and can bake perfect pies.

BBB

Justice no doubt is blind.

Well, I, for one, will feel much safer at night knowing she's off the streets.

She may have broken the law, but come on, 5 months in jail!!!!
It's not like she went out and attacked someone.

My ex kicked the **** out of me more times than I can count and he never did more than a few hours in a jail cell waiting to be bailed out!!!!!! He has also abused every woman he's ever been with and threatened to kill our 18 month old son in front of half the police department. He has also been arrested twice for drunk driving and for destruction of property, yet he has never served one single day in jail.

This is just plain bogus. They could have given her probation with a heafty fine, but 5 months in prison is way to harsh.

But in theory it was 20 years possible.
After all it is a relative good result for her.

BBB, she lied about an alleged crime that they lacked sufficient evidence to convict her on. Her punishment already exceeds the crime, that she wasn't convicted of, many times over and just what does society gain from putting her in jail? This is a shameless witch-hunt.

BPB- Ken Lay is a different matter. I like the way Dennis puts it. Soon Mr. lay won't just be his real name... it will be his nickname as well.

I agree Bill. This makes me mad as hell!!!!

Can someone explain for the benefit of a foreigner exactly who she is? (i.e. why she is famous?) Thanks!

Hey, folks. It's a country club prison. Wild Bill, what does that picture prove. (however, I love the lilacs)

If any of you lost money due to her questionable tactics, you might feel differently. Not to worry, she'll write a book and all will be well at KMart.

Grand Duke
Stewart Gets 5 Months Prison, 5 in Home Confinement (Update3)
July 16

(Bloomberg) -- Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison, plus five months of home detention and a $30,000 fine for lying to federal authorities investigating her sale of stock in a friend's company.

U.S. District Judge Miriam Cedarbaum allowed Stewart to remain free pending her appeal. The sentence, which was the minimum recommended, caps the downfall of Stewart, who built a suburban catering business into a billion-dollar media and housewares company.

``Today is a shameful day for me, for my family,'' Stewart told the judge before she was sentenced. ``I ask that in judging me you remember all the good I have done. My hope is my whole life won't be completely destroyed.''

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., was worth $2.52 billion on Oct. 19, 1999, the day its shares first traded publicly. Stewart's stake was valued at $1.77 billion, more than quadruple the entire company's worth today. The company's stock rose $2.43 to $11.07 at 10:47 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange Trading.

Stewart, a former model who won Emmy awards as a television host, faced a maximum of 16 months in jail under federal sentencing guidelines for lying to investigators probing her Dec. 27, 2001, sale of nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems Inc. stock.

Cedarbaum, 74, rejected Stewart's bid to avoid prison at a hearing today in New York. Stewart sought to serve her sentence in community service helping underprivileged women launch their own businesses.

Saved $51,000

Stewart, 62, and her former Merrill Lynch & Co. broker, Peter Bacanovic, 42, were convicted March 5 of obstructing justice. Under the sentencing guidelines, Bacanovic, who will be sentenced this afternoon, also faces between 10 and 16 months in prison.

Prosecutors say Stewart saved $51,222 by selling her shares one day ahead of news that Erbitux, an ImClone cancer drug, had been rejected by federal regulators. Since then, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Erbitux, and ImClone shares have rallied. Stewart's stake, had she held it, would be worth $80,000 more today than when she sold it.

The Martha Stewart case is U.S. v. Stewart, 03CR717, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

Last Updated: July 16, 2004 10:48 EDT

BBB has already post but also may http://www.marthastewart.com/ help s.

No, it wasn't... and no it wasn't.

All supposed reasoning for sentences were well satisfied before sentencing. They punished her for her arrogance... which to my knowledge is not a crime in this country. Hell, she personifies this country. Martha Stewart is the embodiment of the American Dream and the jealous have-nots just couldn't let her be proud of her accomplishments. She made a mistake and for it has already paid a heavier price than anyone before her. The jail time is adding insult to injury for the purpose of insult. I repeat; this is just wrong.

I think she got railroaded. The intent was to make her the poster girl and scapegoat for a whole range of abuses on Wall Street that are not being address. She was a very successful women in a field outside of fashion or entertainment, traditional venues for female success, and occupied a unique cultural position. Stewart was what anthropologists call a gate keeper. In other words she sat standards by which other people are judged for obtaining a particular social status, in this case the status of a successful suburban housewife and homemaker. These people are often controversial figures (read any Edith Wharton novel) and often despised both by those who do not meet their standards and those who find meeting those standards an onerous effort. She was in effect the perfect target for a prosecutor on the make.

Montana
Montana, while your ex didn't land in prison for his crimes is a crime itself, it doesn't excuse Martha Stewart, who thought she was above the law. To say that she shouldn't be punished just because so many slime balls don't get the punishment they deserve is no excuse.

Martha made a very stupid mistake because she has a long history of being pathologically in pursuit of wealth. If she had used her considerable brains instead of her natural reaction, she would have realized the little money she thought she might lose was a pittance. But she didn't and her emotional history reaction did the damage she is whining about. The very life pattern that made her rich and famous is the very same pattern that brought her down.

BBB

OB
OB, if I had been the judge, I would have been very tempted to sentence Martha Stewart to a year of community service helping women to start their own businesses rather than sending her to jail, which I think is a waste of her considerable talent. I would have levied a very large fine, which could have been applied to financing such a non-profit organization.

The problem is that not sentencing her to jail time might hamper jail time sentencing for other white-collar criminals with trials pending. You have to look at the big picture on how best to punish corporate criminals.

BBB

It was definitely a witch-hunt that escalated way out of proportion but I do believe she should be punished and find it acceptable that she gets some jail-time. I certainly hope that this wave of corporate crime gets the message finally that there is a huge crack-down and it will not be swept under the carpet any longer - there are definitely consequences. It is just unfortunate that the little itty-bitty boo-boo committed by Martha has been taking up most of the attention and the more serious insider trading and pillaging by the Enrons and Tycos are happy to be lurking in the shadows for a bit.

Yes,it´s wrong.




Sorry, I meant 16 month.

But:Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia surged $2.61 30 percent, to $11.25 in the Wall Street.