Prison sentence for Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling slashed by 10 years
The prison sentence of Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron who spearheaded the pervasive fraud that destroyed the energy company, was reduced by 10 years on Friday after a federal judge approved a deal between his lawyers and prosecutors.
Judge Simeon T. Lake III of U.S. District Court in Houston, who oversaw Skilling's trial in 2006, signed off on an agreement that will decrease his 24-year sentence to 14 years.
The reduction was driven in part by a 2009 appeals court ruling that ordered a recalculation of Skilling's sentence because of a mistake made by the judge in interpreting the federal sentencing guidelines.
Skilling, 59, who has been serving his sentence at a federal prison in Colorado, appeared in court on Friday wearing a khaki-colored prison uniform, a salt-and-pepper beard, and looking bulkier than he did during his days as a corporate chieftain.
He will now exit prison as early as 2017. Though there is no parole in the federal criminal justice system, Skilling will most likely receive the standard 15 percent sentence reduction for good behavior and a one-year reduction for completing a substance-abuse treatment program.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_23512655/prison-sentence-enron-ceo-jeffrey-skilling-slashed-by
