When you are dubbed the "most hated man in Corporate America", the news of your untimely death at a ski resort a day after Independence Day will inspire conspiracy theories, good riddance wishes ,and the nagging thought in many that he "got off too easy".
As expected, the blogosphere is debating, Did he fake his death?
From Bitch Ph.D
They want us to believe that the good lord has struck Ken Lay down, but I heard he bought a body on the black market and is hiding out in Dick Cheney's garage.
And from the comment section of Newscoma ,who had written a play by play post called "Ken Lay's Last Act, Freaking Out Wikipedia,"
- "Dave said...
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I have hard evidence that Ken was killed by the Freemasons because he was about to reveal secrets about the Illuminati and the New World Order. It was made to look like a heart attack by the same people who tried to cover up the UFO crash at Roswell.
I also have passages from the Bible that show exactly how this incident will effect global warming. - newscoma said...
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I was leaning toward Bigfoot, but yours is much more plausible."
Some reactions were surprising, as Barbara Walters announced the news on The View, she offered up her perspective on the cause of death, and as Jossip so aptly noted, she used The Breaking News to transition to a segment on the stress of having dads in the delivery room. Perhaps the stress of the Star Jones pleasantries is clouding her better news judgment.
However, it's the news being reported in the Wall Street Journal ( I would link but it's a subscription publication) that is apt to really goad the thousands of employees and investors who saw their life savings evaporate because of Lay's lies.
For many, there was some comfort that he would have to spend the remaining days of his life in prison.Turns out that since Lay died before his case could be appealed, his criminal conviction is likely to be expunged.
Mr. Lay's death likely will erase his conviction. Under prior decisions by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals -- which includes Houston, where he was convicted -- a person who dies before his appeal is completed isn't considered convicted. His death also likely will end the efforts of prosecutors to seize through the criminal proceeding Mr. Lay's remaining assets, since he may no longer be considered a felon, said Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning. Kathryn Ruemmler, one of the lead prosecutors in the criminal trial of Mr. Lay and Mr. Skilling, declined to comment.
However, existing civil suits by the Securities and Exchange Commission and attorneys representing Enron investors can presumably continue against Mr. Lay's estate. Whether those civil cases can extract much is unclear. Mr. Lay claimed during trial that his fortune, which once was estimated to be several hundred million dollars, had largely been wiped out. Much of his holdings had been in Enron stock, which fell to pennies a share after the company's bankruptcy.
As Linda Ellerbee would say, "And so it goes."
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