Skilling Wants Freedom While Appealing His Conviction

Lawyers for former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling have asked Judge Sim Lake to allow him to remain free while he appeals his conviction, reports the Washington Post.
Judge Lake, who is scheduled to sentence Skilling on Oct. 23, could send him into custody immediately. But Daniel Petrocelli, Skilling’s lawyer, asked the judge that his client be allowed to remain free on bail pending his appeal. Alternatively, Petrocelli asked that Skilling — who he says is neither a flight risk nor a “threat to society” — be allowed to remain free until Jan. 2, or, at the very least, Nov. 27.
To remain free pending appeal, Skilling must prove he will raise issues that are likely to result in a reversal of his conviction. Lawyers cited three key points on appeal: juror bias in Houston; improper jury instructions; and the government’s preventing the defense from calling key witnesses.
Skilling may take some solace in the fact that WorldCom’s Bernie Ebbers was allowed to remain free pending his appeal, which many had described as a longshot. In July the Second Circuit upheld Ebbers’s conviction, and last month he began serving his 25-year prison term.

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/10/12/skilling-wants-freedom-while-appealing-his-conviction/