Ken Lay considered innocent after his death
A rule in U.S. law called “abatement ab initio” means that Kenneth Lay will have his conviction on federal charges related to the Enron fraud wiped out. A defendant who dies before having the opportunity to appeal the conviction has everything related to the case extinguished, meaning that the record will show that Lay was never indicted or convicted.
The theory behind this law is that the appellate process is a key part of protecting the integrity of the criminal justice system. It is part of the due process afforded to defendants, and since Lay’s death rendered him incapable of participating fully in the due process, his conviction must be nullified.
This nullification will also impact the ability of the government to collect money from Lay’s estate. The government announced that it would try to seize $43.5 million in ill-gotten gains from Lay. Now that Lay is dead, the process to collect that money will be affected. The government will ikely have to bring a civil lawsuit against Lay’s estate. Unfortunately, a civil suit will probably require the government to re-prove all the facts already established in the criminal proceedings.
Tags: abatement ab initio, Kenneth Lay, conviction, federal charges, Enron, fraud, appeal, due process, ill-gotten gains, civil lawsuit
