After the financial crisis and the recent insider trading convictions of Raj Rajaratnam and Rajat Gupta, perhaps it is time to reconsider the plight of Jeffrey K. Skilling. The former chief executive is serving a 24-year sentence arising from his conviction in a Houston trial of 19 counts after the stunning 2001 collapse of Enron. Until the financial crisis, Enron’s bankruptcy was viewed as Exhibit A of corporate crime and executives run amok. After trial that lasted months, Mr. Skilling was convicted of securities fraud, among other crimes. Judge Sim Lake sentenced him to the low end of the recommended sentencing range after Mr. Skilling expressed remorse, asserting that he was “innocent of these charges.” More in the New York Times DealBook here.
