EDITORIAL JUSTICE SERVED ENRON VERDICTS HELP RESTORE FAITH IN THE LAW AND MARKET.SEEING that Kenneth Lay Kenneth Lee "Ken" Lay (April 15, 1942 – July 5, 2006) was an American businessman, best known for his role in the widely-reported corruption scandal that led to the downfall of Enron Corporation. and Jeffrey Skilling used devious de·vi·ous adj. 1. Not straightforward; shifty: a devious character. 2. Departing from the correct or accepted way; erring: achieved success by devious means. business tricks to defraud To make a Misrepresentation of an existing material fact, knowing it to be false or making it recklessly without regard to whether it is true or false, intending for someone to rely on the misrepresentation and under circumstances in which such person does rely on it to his or investors, employees, retirees and the California energy market, we can all take some satisfaction in their conviction on federal fraud and conspiracy charges. This time, money wasn't enough to buy an acquittal The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime. Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a verdict of not guilty. or a slap on the wrist for rich and powerful defendants. The two former Enron executives are likely to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. But the good news here is more than just that justice has been served. Enron's spectacular rise and fall brought some much-needed public scrutiny to corporate America, with big companies now forced -- by market pressures and the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act-- to pay more attention to matters of ethics. This is a good and necessary correction, one that reaffirms the country's sense of the judicial system, as well as its faith in its economic institutions. |
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