# Martha Stewart guilty on all counts **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 5, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756 "2004-03-05T20:10:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/1 "2004-03-05T20:10:08Z")
According to [www.cnn.com](http://www.cnn.com) Breaking news, per CNN, more to follow. Fire your “it’s a good thing” jokes back up. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/2 "2004-03-05T20:12:08Z")
[http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040305/D814DRV00.html](http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040305/D814DRV00.html) They’re saying there’s no way she’s not going to jail. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/3 "2004-03-05T21:17:44Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > [HeadlineAlley](http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040305/D814DRV00.html) > > They’re saying there’s no way she’s not going to jail. :eek: I was honestly shocked to see this happen, really thought she’d get away with probation. I imagine the bookies are taking bets on the length of the prison stay now… ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/4 "2004-03-05T21:41:25Z")
Ms. Stewart brings new meaning to the term, “Prison Bitch”. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/5 "2004-03-05T22:03:57Z")
I’m not a fan of hers but still I really don’t agree with sending the lady to jail. Stiff fine? Sure. Community service? You bet. Probation? Stringent and lengthy. But freakin’ getting sent to prison? Holy cow, that’s really, really harsh. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/6 "2004-03-05T22:04:06Z")
> **[Political Humor](https://www.liveabout.com/political-humor-4687972)** > > Red or blue, young or old, stay up to date on what's happening in DC, without taking it too seriously. Enjoy the best jokes about our political process, current events, and leaders. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/7 "2004-03-05T22:05:57Z")
[Fun with PhotoShop](http://www.worth1000.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp?contest_id=1214&display=photoshop) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/8 "2004-03-05T22:18:56Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I’m not a fan of hers but still I really don’t agree with sending the lady to jail. > > Stiff fine? Sure. Community service? You bet. Probation? Stringent and lengthy. > > But freakin’ getting sent to prison? Holy cow, that’s really, really harsh. I must admit that I haven’t paid really close attention to this case, but why is prison such a harsh penalty for breaking the law? The idea that prison is too harsh for her brings to mind some of the stories I recall from the S&L days, where men who looted banks of millions got probation while men who robbed banks of thousands got life terms (no specific cites at the moment, just my recollection). ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/9 "2004-03-05T22:21:48Z")
Is there any chance she’d appeal? If only to delay the inevitable? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/10 "2004-03-05T23:36:34Z")
She has already said that she is going to appeal the verdict. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/11 "2004-03-05T23:59:53Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I’m not a fan of hers but still I really don’t agree with sending the lady to jail. > > Stiff fine? Sure. Community service? You bet. Probation? Stringent and lengthy. > > But freakin’ getting sent to prison? Holy cow, that’s really, really harsh. :rolleyes: Oh, come on, it’s not like she’s going to wind up in a “Federal-pound-me-in-the-ass” prison, she’ll go to a cushy white color prison. Hell, they’ll probably let her out **daily** so she can continue taping her TV show. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/12 "2004-03-06T00:52:26Z")
I wonder how much more punishment Martha needs to get for a niggling $40k stock trade? Her personal fortune has been decimated and then some, her company has hit the skids and investors in her company (like myself) got screwed in the fallout over something that had nothing to do with MSO at all. If she’s given jail time, even at the cushiest of country club jails, while Lay, Kozlowski, Rigas, Skilling, Ebbers, etc., the ones who actually defrauded their own companies, employees and stockholders, continue to walk free… Well, it wouldn’t be the _worst_ injustice in the world, but it’d be another black mark on the increasingly bumbling idiots at the SEC for certain. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/13 "2004-03-06T01:23:10Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > I must admit that I haven’t paid really close attention to this case, but why is prison such a harsh penalty for breaking the law? The idea that prison is too harsh for her brings to mind some of the stories I recall from the S&L days, where men who looted banks of millions got probation while men who robbed banks of thousands got life terms (no specific cites at the moment, just my recollection). It’s because, if you steal 10K, you’re a thief, If you steal 1 million, you’re a financeer. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/14 "2004-03-06T04:13:13Z")
> [@TeaElle](#): > > I wonder how much more punishment Martha needs to get for a niggling $40k stock trade? Her personal fortune has been decimated and then some, her company has hit the skids and investors in her company (like myself) got screwed in the fallout over something that had nothing to do with MSO at all. Good point, I believe the current estimates have her losing more than $230 million since this all started. What really must eat at her is that ImClone stock has now rebounded above the level at which she sold. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/15 "2004-03-06T04:25:02Z")
I heard that she lost closer to $50,000. Not much to her, I’m sure. I feel that if she was convincted by a jury, she should receive an appropriate punishment. 20 years is the max - I’ve heard a lot saying she won’t serve a day, but I’ll willing to bet she’ll be re-decorating her cell soon. I think we’ve had enough rich folks avoiding the consequences of their actions. What’s more, I don’t know how to make a snack look like a masterpiece whilst I serve it on fine china - and come to think of itk I have no desire to do so ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/16 "2004-03-06T04:27:39Z")
I heard that she lost closer to $50,000. Not much to her, I’m sure. I feel that if she was convicted by a jury, she should receive an appropriate punishment. 20 years is the max - I’ve heard a lot saying she won’t serve a day, but I’ll be willing to bet she’ll be re-decorating her cell soon. I think we’ve had enough rich folks avoiding the consequences of their actions. What’s more, I don’t know how to make a snack look like a masterpiece whilst I serve it on fine china - and come to think of it, I have no desire to do so! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/17 "2004-03-06T04:47:51Z")
A prison term for for insider trading seems pretty harsh. Who did she hurt to such a degree that twenty years in the slammer is a reasonable punishment? There are people who commit murder who don’t pull 20 years! ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/18 "2004-03-06T04:55:12Z")
> [@Blonde](#): > > I heard that she lost closer to $50,000. Not much to her, I’m sure. The $230 million figure represents the decline of Martha Stewart Omnimedia, of which she was (obviously) a large shareholder. The company has lost half of its value since the investigation began. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/19 "2004-03-06T07:40:28Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > … she’ll go to a cushy white **color** prison. [emphasis mine] I know you probably meant “white collar,” but I think describing the “less-of-a-hellhole” prisons as “white color” may be closer to the truth, when it comes to the U.S. penal system! ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756/20 "2004-03-06T08:00:31Z")
> [@TeaElle](#): > > If she’s given jail time, even at the cushiest of country club jails, while Lay, Kozlowski, Rigas, Skilling, Ebbers, etc., the ones who actually defrauded their own companies, employees and stockholders, continue to walk free… Well, it wouldn’t be the _worst_ injustice in the world, but it’d be another black mark on the increasingly bumbling idiots at the SEC for certain. Preach it, **TeaElle**. I’m not remotely a fan of Martha’s but if the judgment against her was intended as a signal, an opening shot against flagrant corporate crime, then she’d better be just the opening act for the big offenders. Martha screwed up but she’s still chump change on the grand scale. The SEC used some creative legal maneuvers on Martha. I’m gonna watch with closely whether they apply the same zeal for the big 'uns. The principle was sound. Now we’ll see if if Martha was just a high profile distraction. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewart-guilty-on-all-counts/232756.md?page=2)