Big Brain

More Ken Lay talk. Question: Since Lay had been found guilty by a jury but had not yet been sentenced and certainly had not exhausted all of his appeals, what is his legal status? Someone smarter than me says this had Lay died during his appeal: "In a recent Fifth Circuit decision, United States v. Estate of Parsons, 367 F.3d 409 (5th Cir. 2004), the court explained that 'the appeal does not just disappear, and the case is not merely dismissed. Instead, everything associated with the case is extinguished, leaving the defendant as if he had never been indicted or convicted.' In Parsons, the court vacated a forfeiture order, which means that the government's forfeiture claim against Lay for $43.5 million (see earlier post here) will be dismissed. " (Source)