Eeeeeeeee as in Enron. This past week, Jeff Skilling, former president of Enron, was sentenced to 24 years and four months, and will soon be remanded to the Federal Correctional Center in Butner, N.C. According to federal guidelines, Skilling must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for release. If authorities note his good behavior during incarceration, however, he will be eligible to rejoin society when he is 72.
Prior to his sentencing, Judge Sim Lake allowed former employees and shareholders to speak, many of whom urged Lake to hand down a tough sentence. The judge had no choice but to follow federal sentencing guidelines which require judges to consider numeric calculations that take into account many factors, one of which is dollar loss if fraud has been committed.
Skilling's sentencing has turned into a hotbed of debate within the legal community. At issue is whether the sentence is appropriate for a first-time, white-collar offender. Attorneys point to the fact that repeat violent offenders often get less time and are eligible for parole sooner.
I think that with so many lives affected, Skilling should be held to a high level of responsibility. White collar crime affects more people and requires cunning intent. Surely that fits the definition of “evil.” That said, I think the sentence is rightfully severe, and I’m disappointed that Andy Fastow is not being required to serve more than the six years he was given for his role in the undoing of this corporation. Federal sentencing guidelines are meant to be a clear warning to capitalists in this country to control their greed.
I’m not sure if anyone from Enron’s communication or human resources areas could have affected or influenced Skilling. Probably not. But they certainly would have been able to ask the hard questions. To ask the right questions. I think that, more than anything, would have been a huge service to employees under the circumstances. Instead, they took a different road and became management’s “easy speaks.”
More than likely, Skilling will serve his time at the low-security facility near the Research Triangle of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, along with 1308 other inmates. (But Federal Bureau of Prison officials make the final call.) Visiting hours are: Monday, Thursday and Friday from 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays, Sundays and all federal holidays, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
And moreeeeee…
Edelman's is still dealing with the fall-out over the failed Wal-Mart “flogging.” I visited Richard Edelman's blog to find out what he had to say about it and especially, what he intends to do about it.
I was very impressed that he took the rap, made no excuses and then asked for suggestions on how to ensure that this doesn’t happen again within his company. He even responded to me with an e-mail in which he acknowledged there was more work internally to do. To that end, he’s brought back Mike Morley, a recently-retired Edelman VP, to act as ombudsman and to speak about ethics to all Edelman offices globally. Edelman is also requiring its employees to attend "Ethics in Social Media" training, hosted by Edelman’s me2revolution team along with outside experts.
I think Edelman is serious about transparency and if that doesn’t start at the top levels of a company, then the company is probably already in trouble. So, an attaboy for Edelman’s for its proactive treatment of this issue.
Question of the Week: Do you agree with Jeff Skilling’s punishment?
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