Ken Lay Dodges a Bullet

Enron founder and convicted felon Ken Lay artfully avoided jail time by cashing in all his chips on the coronary express yesterday, well in advance of his October 23 sentencing.

His all too timely death is a perfect illustration of why capital punishment should be abandoned in this country. It isn't punishment; it's a release. Mr. Lay will never have to spend years in prison reflecting on his actions and the thousands of employees' lives he ruined while at Enron's helm. He'll never experience the restrictive nature of a prisoner's life. He'll certainly never have to consider whether or how he may attempt to make amends for his wrongs. And he'll never feel regret over the year's taken from him by incarceration. He's gone. He doesn't even know what he would have missed had he not suffered the heart attack that ended his life.