Reply #8: I can't join in the general expression of outrage.

[Jim Lane]

A criminal defendant has a right to take an appeal. Ideally, no one would be jailed while an appeal was still pending.

The problem is that many convicted defendants would flee. It's usually not a good circumstance for granting bail.

Skilling is wearing an ankle monitoring device and is arguably less likely to try to flee anyway. The decision about granting bail should be made on a case-by-case basis. That procedure results in some inequity, because a poor defendant is less likely to be granted bail. Where the court judges that a particular defendant presents a low risk of flight, though, it would be unfair to deny bail just because other defendants wouldn't qualify.